In January of this year, we launched a monthly series commemorating the bicentennial of the Santa Fe Trail, noting that the first successful trading expedition from Missouri to New Mexico took place in the fall of 1821. Today, we conclude our series by focusing on the period in which rails displaced the trails, bringing an end to the era in which freight wagons rolled back and forth on the Santa Fe Trail. In 1951, Columbia Pictures released a feature film called "Santa Fe," based on a novel involving construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.
The documentary Road to Santa Fe will be broadcast again by KCPT - Kansas City PBS -- on Friday, December 17, at 8 p.m. The program has received an award of merit from the Santa Fe Trail Association and our monthly radio series received an award from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. Learn more about this project by visiting PrairieHollow.net. You can also check out the Facebook page for Prairie Hollow Productions.
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 1
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 2 (DAR Markers)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 3 (Wagon Ruts)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 4 (William Becknell)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 5 (Josiah Gregg)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 6 (Army of the West)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 7 (Border Ruffians & Fort Union)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 8 (Fort Larned)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 9 (Council Grove and the Kaw Nation)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 10 (First Trails / First Americans)
- Commemorating 200 Years of the Santa Fe Trail - Part 11 (Mexican Merchants)