The collection was begun in 1991 by the late Merrill J. Mattes, a co-founder of the Oregon-California Trails Association. That original nucleus was a result of a generous donation from Merrill and reflected his many years as an award-winning National Park Service historian and also included works of his own authorship. The collection is housed at the national Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri. Here, you have access to many of the original trail diaries he collected in digital form.
The Merrill J. Mattes Research Library at the National Frontiers Trails Museum is believed to be the largest public research library in the nation focused on the overland trails, and the acquisition and settlement of the American West. Only a few years old, the remarkable collection houses over 3,500 volumes, many of them rare books of Western Americana.
