William Becknell (1787 or 1788 – April 30, 1865) was an American soldier, politician, and freight operator who is credited by Americans with opening the Santa Fe Trail in 1821. He found a trail for part of the route that was wide enough for wagon trains and draft teams, making it easier for trader and emigrants along this route. The Santa Fe Trail became an early major transportation route through central North America that connected

Franklin, Missouri Franklin is a city in Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is located along the Missouri River in the central part of the state. Located in a rural area, the city had a population of 70 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia, Miss ...

with Santa Fe, New Mexico, serving both trading and emigrant parties. It served as a vital commercial highway from the 1820s until 1880, when the railroad was introduced to Santa Fe. Becknell made use of long-established trails made by Native Americans, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and French colonial explorers and traders for centuries before his trip. French colonists in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

had a monopoly on trade with Santa Fe, which was granted by the Spanish crown before the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

. When

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

achieved independence from Spain in 1821, it opened up trade to its territories; residents of Santa Fe were eager for more trade goods. In 1822, Becknell altered his route to Santa Fe in order to find a trail more suitable for wagon trains so that he could enable transport of more trade goods. Earlier travelers had ridden on horseback, trailing packhorses. By 1825, he assisted a surveyor with the federal government in mapping the trail, so that it could be available for commercial and military use.

Early life

William Alexander Becknell was born in the Rockfish Creek area of

Amherst County, Virginia Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amherst. ...

to parents Micajah and Pheby (Landrum) Becknell. Conflicting sources say his year of birth was 1787 or 1788.''Dictionary of Missouri Biography'', Lawrence O. Christensen, University of Missouri Press, 1999. Young Becknell's father and grandfather were veterans of the American Revolution, as were two uncles who died in the war. Becknell married Jane Trusler in 1807 in Virginia. In 1810 the young family migrated to the new

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southea ...

, homesteading west of present-day St. Charles. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Becknell served in the United States Mounted Rangers under Captain Daniel Morgan Boone, a son of the famed explorer. He participated in several engagements, including the Battle of Credit Island and the defense of Fort Clemson, near St. Louis. In the latter engagement, he took control of the defense after senior officers fell. For this he was promoted to the rank of captain, and was long known as Captain Becknell. Following his discharge from Federal service in June 1815, Becknell moved west to the area known as the

Boonslick The Boonslick, or Boone's Lick Country, is a cultural region of Missouri along the Missouri River that played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States and the development of Missouri's statehood in the early 19th century. Th ...

in central Missouri along the Missouri River. Jane Becknell died of unknown circumstance, possibly in childbirth, around the time of her husband's military discharge. In January 1817 the widower married again, to Mary Cribb. According to U.S. Census Bureau records, Becknell was the father of at least five children in total: Mary Jane born in 1815, John Calhoun born in 1817, William Alexander Jr. also born in 1817, Lucy born in 1818, and Cornelia born in 1827. Becknell supported his family by working as a ferryman on the Missouri river and by managing the Boone's Lick Salt Works. In early 1820 he purchased 180 acres in

Howard County, Missouri Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri, with its southern border formed by the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,151. Its county seat is Fayette. The county was organized January 23, 1816, and named ...

and moved the family there.

Trailblazer

In 1821 Becknell faced substantial debt. He had bought out the Boone family interest in the salt works around 1818. In 1820 he ran unsuccessfully for the Missouri Legislature, having borrowed money to finance the campaign. The

Panic of 1819 The Panic of 1819 was the first widespread and durable financial crisis in the United States that slowed westward expansion in the Cotton Belt and was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic ...

took its toll on his business activities by limiting the amount of credit and hard currency available. Owing creditors more than $1,200 dollars ($20,000 in today's money), Becknell was briefly jailed until a friend posted bail. The judge in the case gave Becknell until early 1822 to pay his creditors or face more jail time. Under pressure, Becknell left Franklin in September 1821 on an extended trading trip, including hunting and trapping for furs, as the fur trade was still lucrative. He bought $300 worth of trade goods for his trip. According to an advertisement Becknell placed in the ''Missouri Intelligencer'' newspaper, his intent was "trading for horses and mules and catching wild animals of every description." Becknell and his group were not the only ones searching for a convenient trade route to Santa Fe, but that fall they were the first to reach the city, in mid-November 1821. Becknell's timing was near perfect. Mexico had recently become independent of Spain. It lifted the ban against trade with outsiders. French colonists from St. Louis had traded with Santa Fe when both were still under Spanish rule before the

. The Chouteau brothers of

had been given a monopoly with the Spanish for trade in Santa Fe, and this trade contributed greatly to the wealth of the city on the Mississippi River. The people of Santa Fe were eager for the variety of goods which Becknell offered from his string of pack horses. They were willing to pay high prices: some cotton cloth and calico brought the then-unheard of sum of three dollars a yard. After a month of trading, Becknell and his party left Santa Fe on December 13 with their saddlebags overflowing with silver. His investment of $300 in trading goods had returned approximately $6000 in coin. Reaching Missouri in January 1822, Becknell almost immediately began planning his next trading trip to Santa Fe. For his second journey, he chose to haul trade goods by wagon instead of pack horse. He had to slightly alter his original route in order to accommodate the width of wagons and draft teams. The wagon train left Franklin in May 1822 and suffered considerable hardship, with both animals and people nearly dying of thirst in the parched Cimarron Desert. The 'train' arrived in Santa Fe forty-eight days later. The second trip proved to be even more profitable than the first. Taking an estimated $3,000 in goods to Santa Fe, Becknell's party returned with a profit of around $91,000. They paid some of that total as dividends to shareholders who had helped fund the trip, and even the smallest investor reaped great returns. Becknell made a third profitable trip to Santa Fe in 1824. The following year in 1825, he helped map the trail for surveyors hired by the U.S. Congress. For his efforts in opening up an improved route for regular traffic and military movement, William Becknell became known as the ''Father of the Santa Fe Trail''

Later life

In 1827 Becknell was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for

Saline County, Missouri Saline County is located along the Missouri River in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,370. Its county seat is Marshall. The county was established November 25, 1820, and named for the region's salt spr ...

. The following year he was elected to the first of two terms in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

. Retaining his rank of captain, Becknell served in the Missouri state militia during a Native American uprising in 1829 and again during the 1832

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

. In 1835 Becknell sold all his Missouri property and business interests and moved to present-day

Red River County, Texas Red River County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 11,587. Its county seat is Clarksville. The county was created in 1835 and organized in 1837. It is named for the Red River, which forms its n ...

in northeast Texas. During the Texas War of Independence, Becknell organized and led a cavalry unit known as the Red River Blues. Later he would serve briefly as a Texas Ranger. He was also elected as a member of the legislature in the newly established Republic of Texas. Becknell died on April 30, 1865, at his home. He is buried in a private family cemetery. US 82 passes by the site a few miles west of

Clarksville, Texas Clarksville is a city and county seat of Red River County, Texas, in the United States in the northernmost part of the Piney Woods region of East Texas. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,857. Geography Clarksville is located at ...

.Browning, James A. ''Violence Was No Stranger'' (1993). Barbed Wire Press. .

References

External links

*
William Becknell and the Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail Research
*

* ttp://www.santafetrail.org/ Santa Fe Trail Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Becknell, William United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 American people of the Black Hawk War Members of the Missouri House of Representatives 1780s births 1856 deaths County officials in Missouri Republic of Texas politicians 1st Congress of the Republic of Texas People of the Texas Revolution People from Amherst County, Virginia 19th-century American politicians United States Army officers