MAPS OF THE OREGON TRAIL by...

MAPS OF THE OREGON TRAIL by Gregory M. Franzwa (The Patrice Press: $18.95; $24.95, spiral bound, illustrated). Beginning with the 58 settlers of the Bidwell-Bartleson Company in 1841, an estimated 300,000 people came West on the Oregon Trail, which ran from Independence, Mo., to The Dalles, on the Columbia River. Although it was designated a National Historic Trail by Congress in 1978, little survives of the original roadway, which has been plowed, eroded, paved and built over. Franzwa surveys the trail in 36-mile sections, enabling the reader to follow it as closely as possible. This unpretentious guide is sure to fascinate history buffs and readers interested in retracing their ancestors’ journeys.