Overview
The Frontier Trails Museum is
located in Independence, Missouri. Independence was the
starting point for many thousands of west- bound
pioneers and gold prospectors during the 1800s, and this
museum thoroughly tells their story. There is a wide
variety of exhibits displaying artifacts, images, and
stories about the trails and the travelers that used
them.
Across the street from the Frontier Trails Museum is the
Bingham/Waggoner Estate, a tour well worth taking.
If you walk to the far end of the estate's parking lot,
you'll find a paved path that leads through a small
stand of trees and across a foot bridge emerging in a
sloping field. It's here you will find the swales, ruts
made by the horses and wagon wheels as the covered
wagons headed out. There is no additional admission
charged for visiting the field and observing the swales.
In summary, the Frontier
Trails Museum is well worth the slight diversion from
the interstate while traveling through the Kansas City
area. Plan on 2-4 hours to get the mot out off the
visit.
The kids each read the Carole Marsh
mystery "Mystery on the Oregon Trail."
Lewis and Clark:
From the museum's website:
Suggested Lewis and Clark
regional sites:
Follow in the footsteps of the Corp of Discovery, and to
learn more about their journey:
Fort Osage
Sibley, MO (816-503-4860) Partial reconstruction of the
fort and Indian trading post William Clark built on the
site after the expedition in 1808. Across the river from
one of Lewis and Clark campsites, the fort has costumed
interpreters and an excellent view of the Missouri
River.
National
Frontier Trails Museum
318 W. Pacific St., Independence, MO (816-325-7575)
"Blazing the Way West: From Lewis
and Clark to Fur
Trappers and Traders" exhibit highlights the Corp of
Discovery expedition and the explorers who followed
them. Other exhibits focus on the Santa Fe, Oregon and
California Trails.
Missouri River Overlook
Above the extinct town of Wayne City. North of Kentucky
Road on River Road in Independence, MO. (Maps to the
overlook are available at the National Frontier Trails
Museum.) The riverboat landing at Wayne City, also known
as the Independence Landing, was where thousands of
emigrants left steamboats to embark on the Oregon and
California Trails, and where commercial goods were
unloaded for shipping down the Santa Fe Trail.
Discovery Center
4750 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, MO (816-759-7300)
Excellent learning center for children and adults.
Features include a half-size replica of Lewis and
Clark’s keelboat.
Lewis and Clark Statue
Case Park, Eighth and Jefferson Streets, in downtown
Kansas City, MO. (Maps to the park are available at the
National Frontier Trails Museum.) The heroic-sized
bronze statue depicts Meriwether Lewis, William Clark,
Sacagawea and baby, Clark's slave York, and the dog,
Seaman. Situated on the peak of a bluff, the park has an
excellent view of the confluence of the Kansas and
Missouri Rivers
