Oregon-California Trails Association | Powell, M.

Powell, M. – Overland Journal 1849

Merrill J. Mattes Collection·

“On the 28th of June, at morning’s dawn, our little train pursued it’s way along the margin of the
Little Blue River, and the road turned to the left leaving the prairie far behind, I turned to take a last look at its broad green surface, and,
with a sigh, involuntarily repeated the lines, ‘Oh! The prairie is the home for me, for I am lord of all I see; The chase, the chase, o’er the boundless waste, and its grassy course for me.” ~ M. Powell, 1849

Excerpts from Overland Journey to California
5 Pages

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.