History of the Old Spanish Trail
Because the Old Spanish trail was a collection of various routes rather than a single route, many different explorers discovereed different routes. Here is a timeline documenting the various expeditions and discoveries.
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1829
Antonio Armijo
Antonio Armijo, a Mexican explorer and merchant from Santa Fe, was the first person to successfully complete an expedition between Santa Fe and southern California. At first, the expedition used trails by 18th century Spanish explorer Juan Maria de Rivera (1765), as well as trails mapped out by the unsuccessfuly expeditions of Spanish missionaries Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante. Cutting across the mountains of Arizona, Armijo left on November 7, 1829, and arrived in California on Janurary 30, 1830. His expedition consisted of 60 men and 100 mules, and traded woven goods for horses and mules. Upon his return to Mexico, he was hailed as a hero, and reported his findings to the government.
William Wolfskill and George Yount
After Armijo completed his expedition, traders knew that there was profit to be made traveling from Santa Fe to southern California. However, Armijo's direct route across Arizona was much to dangerous and risky, as the route lacked water, shelter, and passed through the territory of the Navajo tribe. William Wolfskill was a fur trapper in New Mexico, who led a second expedition to Los Angeles. George Yount was also a member of the expedition, also a trapper.
Their route headed north to Colorado, following the Colorado River, then crossed into Utah. This more northern route provided more water, better shelter, and much easier terrain to traverse. The route then headed south and met back up with the Armijo route in southern Nevada, and continued southwest to California.
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Both William Wolfskill and George Yount would buy land and settle in California, at this time still a part of Mexico. This would prove to be highly profitable when the United States annexed California after the Mexican-American War.
1830
1848
Mexican-American War
After Mexico lost the Mexican-American War in 1848, the Old Spanish Trail fell into disuse. By far, the most common use for the trail was large trading expeditions consisting of up to 200 people and 400 mules, carrying traditional woven Mexican garments and cloths to California in return for prize horses and mules, which were very valuable in Mexico.
Once this area became United States territory, these expeditions stopped, and the little traffic that remained was diverted to other routes to the South or to the North. These trails were more wagon-friendly, allowing large caravans to travel instead of relying on mules.
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There was a signifigant Mormon population that settled near the Old Spanish Trail, and traders from Santa Fe continued to travel along the route to trade, but by 1853 traders were no longer welcome.
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The Old Spanish Trail provided a tough, yet profitable route between the trading hub of Santa Fe and the growing cities on the California coast. Mainly used by mule trains and large trading expeditions, it was very different from other trails to the West at the time. It was not used by many settlers or wagon trains due to its dangerous route.
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Above: William Wolfskill, leader of the expedition. Below: George Yount
The Souther Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, was another trail that took travelers from Santa Fe to Souther California,