Gateway to the Western Trails

Missouri was the starting point for three of the most important westward migration routes in American history: the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and the California Trail, all of which began in Independence or nearby towns along the Missouri River. Between 1840 and 1869, an estimated 400,000 people set out from Missouri heading west. The trails represented the largest peacetime migration in American history and fundamentally changed the demographic and political character of the country within a single generation.

Source: Wikipedia