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Mill Creek - On to Oregon Exhibit Audio Description
Transcript
On To Oregon – Description
On To Oregon Panel
In front of you, is a panel 3-and-a-half feet wide by 2 feet tall, and about 3 feet off the ground. This panel sits on a concrete pad under a large tree, facing West Jones Street running left to right. A paved pathway runs along the left side of the concrete pad before making an “S” curve in front of the panel, and crossing W Jones St. to the right as it continues to McCoy Park. The path behind you continues to Mill Creek Park. A second wayside panel sits immediately to the right and is also audio described.
At left, across the top of this panel, is dark text on a light blue background:
On to Oregon! Many of the travelers who moved through the Kansas City area were heading for the Oregon Trail. In 1845, about 5,000 emigrants walked and rode from Missouri to Oregon. These were hopeful families seeking land and opportunity. They came by steamboat on the Missouri River. Then they
made their way to town to stock up on supplies. For those who arrived at the Independence Landing, climbing the hill was the first of many challenges. Over the next 5 months, they would travel as far as 2,000 miles, or 3,219 kilometers. Many lost people, animals, and possessions along the way. Families felt both fear and excitement as they traveled the road to Independence.
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A color illustration of a winding trail fills the panel. The trail is filled with wooden wagons with round cream-colored canvas tops. The wagons are pulled by either a pair of mules or a team of 4 oxen. In the foreground, at the right, are 5 people and a brown and white dog. Among them, a boy and a girl run ahead of the first wagon with their gazes forward. 2 women in pale dresses walk behind them. 1 woman wears a wide-brimmed tan hat. In the bottom center of the panel, a girl in a blue dress runs ahead of the wagon. She is looking ahead and smiling. 2 women sit at the front of the first wagon. The woman on the left is wearing a purple top and holds the reins for the mules. The woman on the right is wearing a red top. A small yellow dog sits beside her. To the left of the first wagon, is another covered wagon stopped on the side of the trail. A man and a woman tend to the front pair of yoked oxen. A third person kneels by the rear spoked wagon wheel. Similarly sized wagons follow behind along the winding trail.
The dirt trail is bordered by ankle-deep green grass and meanders through a hilly green landscape. In the distance, along the horizon line, 2 steam ships are docked along a blue river. Steam billows from several buildings behind the ships. Light blue sky fills the top third of the panel.
In the top right corner of the panel, is an inset map. North is toward the top of the panel. Most of the map is green. Roads are gray and the blue Missouri River curves from the top of the left side, to the right side of the top of the map. The Upper Independence Landing, or Wayne City, Overlook, is identified near the top right corner of the map. 3 trails are shown in the right, or east, half of the map: the Santa Fe Trail in yellow, the Oregon Trail in orange, and the California Trail in pink. All 3 trails continue south through the Upper Independence Landing, or Wayne City, Overlook to Independence Square, near the bottom right corner of the map. The routes of the trails pass within a short distance east and west of your location, marked in the center of the map.
Below the map, is white text on a dark background:
It was about 3.5 miles, or 5.6 kilometers, from the boat landing to Independence. The first stretch followed switchbacks up a steep hill.
Across the top of the panel is a black bar. At the left end text reads "Upper Independence Landing." At the right end is the logo and text for the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe national historic trails. Other text lists partner associations.
End of Description
Description
Listen to the audio description of the Mill Creek - On to Oregon exhibit.
Date Created
01/10/2024
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