Audio
Kansas City - From Missouri to the West Exhibit Audio Description
Transcript
From Missouri to the West – Description
In front of you, is a panel 3 feet wide by 2 feet tall, and about 3 feet off the ground. The panel is installed along a winding paved path coming in from behind, and continuing across a metal bridge to the left. Behind the panel, are bushes and trees along a small creek.
In the top right corner of the panel, is white text on a green background:
From Missouri to the West. The Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails have a big national story to tell. They spread across half of the present-day United States. They pushed America’s expansion to the west. Yet this also is an important local history. The shared route of these three historic trails began right here in the Kansas City area. Travelers starting out on all 3 trails followed the same paths through the Kansas City area before the Oregon/California route split from the Santa Fe Trail near Gardner, Kansas.
End of Text
A map of the western half of the United States covers this panel and shows 3 trails: the Santa Fe Trail is in yellow, the California Trail is in pink, and the Oregon Trail in orange. The states are green, and the state borders and names are light green. The country border is dark green. The Santa Fe Trail, used from 1821 to 1880, begins in Franklin, Missouri, on the right side of the panel. It continues westward via Kansas City, Kansas, to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the lower center of the panel. The California Trail, used from 1841 to 1869, starts in Kansas City on the right side of the panel. It continues westward and ends in Sacramento, California, which is in the center of the left side of the panel. This trail also has starting points in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, which are on the right side of the panel, slightly above, or north, of Kansas City. The Oregon Trail, used from 1841 to 1848, extends westward from Kansas City on the right side of the panel to Portland, Oregon, which is in the top left corner of the panel. Each trail has multiple branches.
In the lower left corner of the panel, is a light green inset map. North is towards the top of the panel. This map shows your current location near the center of the map, north of Independence, Missouri. The left half of the map is dark green and represents Indian Territory as of 1840. Indian Territory became Kansas Territory in 1854. The curvy blue Missouri River meanders along the top of the map.
To the right of the inset map, is white text on a green background:
Trail travelers followed various routes through the Kansas City area. Many of them arrived by steamboat. They outfitted for the journey in Independence and Westport.
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 Kansas City, from Missouri to the West Exhibit audio description.
Date Created
06/28/2021
Copyright and Usage Info