A profusely illustrated history that identifies wagon makers and wagon types that for a half-century hauled commercial goods over the Santa Fe Trail.

The wagon train is her chance for a new life …but only if her secrets will keep.Widowed Mrs. Cora Edwards sees Oregon as a fresh start for her and her son…but there are a few problems. She’s not a widow…and baby Noah isn’t her son. He’s the nephew she’s vowed to protect—even if she must accept a marriage of convenience before she’ll be permitted on the wagon train. Her groom, lawman Flynn Adams, carries his own secret heartache…which Cora starts to ease. On the path to a new future, will they find a way forward together?

A study of the classic north-south highway connecting Santa Fe and Chihauhau, pioneered by Onate in 1598.

"Mary Mae Clark has learned the hard way not to trust what a man says. Broken promises have made her wary and now she only wants to return to Santa Fe to help her friend Sophia keep her wee son. Warren Russell has been freighting on the Trail for four years. He likes it that way. Do not tie. No family. No love. He doesn't deserve it after his neglect of his wife and small son resulted in their deaths. But the accidental death of his best friend on the trail leaves Warren as guardian to the man's ten-year-old niece, Polly. He gratefully accepts Mary Mae's help with the child but only while they are on the trail. Then he and Polly will move on. Only Polly has other ideas. Matchmaking ideas ... Can Polly match Mary Mae and Warren in time for her to have a family for Christmas?"-- Back cover.

The political, military, and social importance of the Santa Fe trail is revealed in this lively historical account of one of the most important roads in American history.

Historic pioneer trails serve as some of the most fascinating links to our nation's past and retracing them can be an exhilarating and educational experience. Following the Santa Fe Trail is aimed at assisting modern travelers to enlarge their understanding of the trail and increase the enjoyment that comes from following in the wagon tracks of pioneers. Originating in Franklin, Missouri, the Santa Fe Trail was the first and most exotic of America's great trans-Mississippi pathways to the west. Although the era of the trail ceased, its glory-days are still part of the collective imagination of America. Complete with directions, maps, anecdotes, and historical information, Following the Santa Fe Trail takes the traveler on an authentic historic journey. Modern paved highways now parallel much of the old wagon route and with this guide a modern adventurer can retrace large sections of the trail. Since Following the Santa Fe Trail first appeared in 1984, the trail was designated a National Historic Trail under the National Park Service and public interest has mushroomed. This completely revised third edition now updates all directions and clarifies the changes that have taken place in the last 15 years.

In 1839 a journalist for the New Orleans Picayune, Matthew C. Field, joined a company of merchants and tourists headed west on the Santa Fe Trail. Leaving Independence, Missouri, early in July "with a few wagons and a carefree spirit," Field recorded his vivid impressions of travel westward on the Santa Fe Trail and, on the return trip, eastward along the Cimarron Route. Written in verse in his journal and in eighty-five articles later published in the Picayune, Field’s observations offer the modern reader a unique glimpse of life in the settlements of Mexico and on the Santa Fe Trail.

After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century's most transformative event. Beginning in 1842 with a visionary's dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three wars, and began to discover a new national identity. From self--made entrepreneurs such as the Union Pacific's Thomas Durant and era--defining figures such as President Lincoln to the thousands of laborers whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension not only to this epic endeavor but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history.