Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Scotts Bluff, Nebraska |
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Robidoux Pass |
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Robidoux Pass is one of two historic passes travelers used to traverse the Wildcat Hills range. Located south of the North Platte Valley near the present-day town of Gering, this narrow pass carried thousands of emigrants traveling the Oregon-California Trail between 1843 and 1851. Robidoux Pass provided travelers with their first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains and offered a good supply of spring water and wood—both essential on the journey. The trail crossed through a narrow valley at the base of the pass, then wound its way west to the summit. The earliest travelers to use the pass were probably fur traders and missionaries in the 1820s and 30s. The first transcontinental wagon train through the pass was the Bidwell-Bartleson Expedition, 80 emigrants bound for Oregon with the Catholic missionary Father De Smet in 1841. East of the pass lies the site of a trading post established by a Frenchman, either Joseph or Antoine Robidoux, in the late 1840s. Robidoux sold a variety of goods and provided blacksmithing services for travelers.
Today, none of the historic buildings remain at Robidoux Pass. Wagon ruts and several markers show the original path of the trail. Early accounts of the trip through this area note several burials at the pass, two of which can still be seen today. Tools, wagon implements, bullets, and other materials have also been found in this area, helping to location the trading post and the blacksmith shop.
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