In the spring of 1843, nearly a thousand settlers gathered
in Independence, Missouri, their wagons laden with
dreams of Oregon's promised valleys. They came from
all walks of life-farmers, carpenters, merchants, and
artisans-each carrying generations of Eastern skills toward
an uncertain Western future. This great migration would
mark the first major wagon train to traverse the Oregon
Trail, blazing a path that countless others would follow.
The journey stretched roughly two thousand miles across
half a continent. Those who attempted it faced a gauntlet
of natural obstacles: the muddy Missouri plains, the harsh
Platte River Valley, the towering Rocky Mountains, and the
scorching Snake River desert. Disease, accidents, and the
unforgiving elements claimed many lives along the way.
Yet still they came, drawn by stories of fertile soil and fresh
beginnings in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
This is the story of one such family-the Wheelers of
Pennsylvania carried five generations of craft and
tradition toward Oregon's distant shore. Their journey
would test their physical endurance and understanding of
what makes a home. Like many others who attempted the
trail that year, they would learn that some treasures can only
be found by leaving everything familiar behind.