Oregon Trail 17: Geyser Park in Soda Springs, ID - Fort Hall National Historic Landmark
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 81.11 mi
- Elevation gain
- 1,703 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 3,097 ft
- Max elevation
- 6,115 ft
- TrailRank
- 26
- Min elevation
- 4,283 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- one hour 46 minutes
- Coordinates
- 2874
- Uploaded
- April 13, 2020
- Recorded
- April 2020
near Soda Springs, Idaho (United States)
Viewed 39 times, downloaded 0 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
At the site of Fort Hall, I found… not a fort.
There were actually two Fort Halls constructed. The crumbling cabin pictured is from the location of the first, known today as Old Fort Hall. This Fort Hall was built by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1834, to serve as a trading post on the Snake River. A lithograph of the historic appearance of the fort was created by E. Weber & Co. of Baltimore, Maryland, retrieved and included here from the Oregon Territory Centennial exhibition catalog no. 127, at the Library of Congress. Edward Weber founded his lithography firm around 1840. The proximity of these events suggests that the lithograph reflects Fort Hall to within 20 years of its construction.
The designers of The Oregon Trail video game definitely did their research.
Unlike many of the stops along the Oregon National Historic Trail, Old Fort Hall was not protected as a State or National Park site. There was no gate at the entrance, and no staff on duty. The grounds were marked only by a monument with a plaque, which proclaimed, “Fort Hall has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark.” The abandoned cabin on the grounds was not associated with the Fort.
There were actually two Fort Halls constructed. The crumbling cabin pictured is from the location of the first, known today as Old Fort Hall. This Fort Hall was built by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1834, to serve as a trading post on the Snake River. A lithograph of the historic appearance of the fort was created by E. Weber & Co. of Baltimore, Maryland, retrieved and included here from the Oregon Territory Centennial exhibition catalog no. 127, at the Library of Congress. Edward Weber founded his lithography firm around 1840. The proximity of these events suggests that the lithograph reflects Fort Hall to within 20 years of its construction.
The designers of The Oregon Trail video game definitely did their research.
Unlike many of the stops along the Oregon National Historic Trail, Old Fort Hall was not protected as a State or National Park site. There was no gate at the entrance, and no staff on duty. The grounds were marked only by a monument with a plaque, which proclaimed, “Fort Hall has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark.” The abandoned cabin on the grounds was not associated with the Fort.
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