1836 - Fitzpatrick opens Oregon Trail

        Thomas Fitzpatrick leads Marcus and Narcissa Whitman over the Oregon Trail to Fort Hall.  The wagon train leaves Bellevue, Missouri, on May 14th with his partner Milton Sublette and the Whitmans.  

        Narcissa, a highspirited and righteous missionary, is the first white woman to make the trek over the Rocky Mountains, and leaves her name on a rock at South Pass - still visible today.   Narcissa was much liked (see profile) by her fellow travelers and left a journal describing her remarkable adventures.