Westward Expansion

Nine Places Where You Can Still See Wheel Tracks from the Oregon Trail

The legendary trail has carved itself into American history—and, in some places, into the earth itself

Hearst Castle Has a Brush With California's Wildfires

Curators were ready to evacuate the Hearst Estate, now a state park and museum full of priceless art, furniture and history

"Pick, Pan, Shovel," Ed Ruscha, 1980

The History of the American West Gets a Much-Needed Rewrite

Artists, historians and filmmakers alike have been guilty of creating a mythologized version of the U.S. expansion to the west

A map shows the distribution of the slave population in the Southern states of the United States, based on the 1860 census.

The Surprising History of the Infographic

Early iterations saved soldiers' lives, debunked myths about slavery and helped Americans settle the frontier

That Time When Custer Stole a Horse

The theft of a prize-winning stallion gave the famous general a glimpse of a future that could have been

Whatever Happened to the Wild Camels of the American West?

Initially seen as the Army's answer to how to settle the frontier, the camels eventually became a literal beast of burden, with no home on the range

Melville joked that Dana’s descriptions of Cape Horn “must have been written with an icicle.”

Before Moby-Dick, There Was "Two Years Before the Mast"

This salty memoir by Richard Henry Dana Jr. was one of America's first literary classics

Just a mile down one of the park’s most popular and accessible trails, hikers reap views of Dream Lake.

When Colorado Was (And in Many Ways Still Is) the Switzerland of America

A hundred years ago, city slickers looking for wild times in Rocky Mountain National Park invented a new kind of American vacation

Watercolor illustration of a pony express rider

The Pony Express Was Short-Lived And Costly

The service only lasted 18 months, but became an important icon of the West

Cattle graze on the open range in this shot from ca. 1920-1930.

The 1887 Blizzard That Changed the American Frontier Forever

A blizzard hit the western open range, causing the “Great Die Up” and transforming America’s agricultural history

Where the Buffalo Roam: Illinois

American bison are back in Illinois for the first time in 200 years

America’s Tumbleweeds Are Actually Russian Invaders

Some say the tumbleweed's takeover of the American West was the most aggressive weed invasion in our country's history

Sacajawea guiding the expedition from Mandan through the Rocky Mountains. Painting by Alfred Russell.

Lewis and Clark Only Became Popular 50 Years Ago

For 150 years, the famous explorers were relatively unknown characters

John Ross, left, and Major Ridge teamed up to protect Cherokee holdings in what is now Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The Cherokees vs. Andrew Jackson

John Ross and Major Ridge tried diplomatic and legal strategies to maintain autonomy, but the new president had other plans

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Reorientations

Cowboy Culture and the Universe

Controversy over Meriwether Lewis' death has descendants and scholars campaigning to exhume his body at his grave site in Tennessee.

Meriwether Lewis' Mysterious Death

Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered

St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park

Cowboys and Realtors

The mythical West lives on - even as the wealthy, the leisured and the retired buy into Big Sky Country. An essay

The Astoria Column serves as a memorial for the explorers Lewis and Clark with President Jefferson.

Lewis and Clark: The Journey Ends

The triumphant return of the Lewis and Clark expedition

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