Prairie Village Santa Fe Trail Park

Swale at Prairie Village Ruts Site

Quick Facts

Location:

Prairie View Park, 7727 Delmar, Prairie Village, Kansas

Significance:

Marks the location of the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails in the form of rounded depressions in the ground called swales

MANAGED BY:

City of Prairie Village

Amenities

4 listed

Grill, Picnic Table, Playground, Restroom

A map of Passport and Places to Go locations for National Historic Trails.

Harmon Park

Prairie Village Ruts marks the location of the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails in the form of rounded depressions in the ground called swales. These swales were once part of a well-defined path, most equivalent to a modern day dirt road, that was created as thousands of oxen, cattle, and wagons traveled across the land. They eroded and compacted the ground, which created ruts. Over time, the ruts were weathered into the more gently sloping swales visible today. Trail ruts and swales are invaluable because they mark the actual route used by emigrants over 160 years ago.

Site Information

Location (Prairie View Park, 7727 Delmar, Prairie Village, Kansas)

 Today, the Prairie Village Ruts are part of a four acre city park. In addition to the ruts, the park contains interpretive signs that tell the Trail story, a pavilion, and a playground. Amenities include restrooms, a large fireplace, cooking grills, and picnic tables. 

Exhibits
Take a look at the Kansas City, from Missouri to the West exhibit.

Safety Considerations

More Site Information

Exhibit Audio Description available

Oregon National Historic Trail

California National Historic Trail

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

• Kansas City - the Weight of History Exhibit Audio Description

  
  

  Listen to the audio description of the Kansas City, the Weight of History exhibit.

  Date created:

  06/28/2021

  Audio Transcript

  002 (Grade 5) Slanted Wayside Panel: The Weight of History 584 words / Panel Description: 3.75 minutes

  In front of you, is a panel 3 feet wide by 2 feet tall, and about 3 feet off the ground, on dark brown painted aluminum posts that are in front of a low semicircular stone wall. In metric, that is about 1 meter wide by a half meter tall, and about 1 meter off the ground. Beyond the panel, is a grassy lawn with scattered tall trees. Running from left to right, is a subtle depression in the lawn about 2 feet deep and 8 to 10 feet wide. Behind you, is a pavilion.

  Across the top of the panel, is a black banner that lists the partner organizations associated with the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California National Historic Trails. In the bottom left corner of the panel, is white text on a green background:

  The Weight of History. A busy international highway once crossed the land in front of you. The road was a local branch of the Santa Fe Trail. After Westport became an outfitting center in 1840, traffic on this route increased. In the 1840s, traders used the Trail to haul goods back and forth between Missouri and Mexico. In the 1850s, they moved supplies to new American territories in the southwest. Thousands of men, oxen, mules, horses, and wagons wore tracks deep into the earth. You can still see a subtle depression on the landscape today.

  End of Text

  A color photograph of the landscape in front of you fills the panel. The ground is covered with grass and there are scattered trees in the mid-ground and distance. A watercolor illustration overlays the photo and depicts a covered wagon pulled by a team of 8 oxen. The covered wagon is in the middle of the panel and the team of oxen are in a line toward the right edge. The wagon is brown with spoked wheels and a rounded cream covering. The oxen are light and dark brown. A person with a blue shirt and brown hat sits at the end of the wagon, closest to the oxen.

  Below the oxen’s feet, is white text on a green background:

  Can you find the swale? Search for a long indentation in the ground with gently sloping sides. It shows that wagon trains passed this way.

  End of Text

  Above the oxen, in the top right corner of the panel, is a black rectangular infographic with light text. 8 oxen weighed 22,000 pounds, or 9,979 kilograms. The average weight of a fully loaded commercial wagon was 8,000 pounds, or 3,629 kilograms. When you add them together, a trader’s wagon team weighed 30,000 pounds, or 13,608 kilograms. That’s about the weight of 1 school bus!

  In the top left corner of the panel, is a map of the Santa Fe Trail, which crosses several states. North is toward the top of the panel. The trail starts in Franklin, Missouri, on the right side of the map. It passes through Kansas City, which is marked with a You Are Here arrow. The trail continues toward the lower left of the map, through Kansas, and ends in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The states are tan and outlined in gray, and the trail is blue. Place names are written in black. Traveling to Santa Fe, traders carried fabric, tools, cookware, and cutlery. Traveling to Kansas City, they brought silver and mules.

  Below the map, is white text on a green background:

  Mexican and American traders traveled about 1,500 miles, or 2,414 kilometers, roundtrip between Kansas City, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trip took 6 to 10 weeks each way.

  End of Text