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Paxico, KS partly cloudy, strong winds mileage 3954 left at 10:30 Drove across small country farm roads to pick up the Trails at St. Mary’s. Was the site of a Catholic Mission established by Jesuits in 1848 to convert the Potawatomi Indians and became a stopping point for the travelers on the Trails. It now has become both a college and a large Jesuit seminary. Definitely a Catholic town judging from all the statues of Mary in the yards of the residents. Unable to find the sites we had expected to find in the town, so we stopped to ask men who were loading food at a free food distribution center, where the monuments were. They insisted that we take some free food even though we said, “ no we didn’t need any”. They said otherwise it would be thrown away. We offered to pay for it but, they said no, so came away with a bag of grapefruit, an onion and small head of cabbage. From there, we started following the trail along dirt farm roads most often not on our state map.
By the Red Vermillion River, Louis Vieux, a Potawatomi Indian, had erected a toll
bridge in 1847 that he charged $1 a team to cross on. In the years that were the busiest, it is said he made $300 per day. One wagon train contracted cholera and 50 people died in one week and are buried in a nearby cemetery. Cholera was a real concern and killed many of the emigrants. It is estimated that 100 people died from disease, accidents, and drowning per 100 miles of trail. Both dairies we are following mention people in their group dying and being buried on the trail.
Had lunch in Westmoreland’s South 40 Café. I had a huge breaded pork sandwich that overlapped the hamburger bun. Valerie had a hamburger. Continued along the 2 lane country roads.
Scott Springs was a favorite campsite but is on private land so we just read the markers nearby on a pull-out and took pictures of the flags whipping around and the wagon and bronze oxen.
Outside of the town of Marysville, on the banks of the Big Blue River, was a replica of the rope pulled ferry that took the wagons across for a hefty fee of
$5 starting in 1852. We proceeded on to the pretty town of Marysville. We now picked up the Pony Express Trail that started in St. Joseph, MO heading to San Francisco and in general followed the same route as the Oregon and California Trails. The Express only operated for 19 ½ months in total because of the telegraph and was much later in time than the other Trails, starting in April of 1860.
We left town to the west and drove on following as close as we could to the trails to the Hollenberg Station. It was built by a German couple in 1857 to serve emigrant traffic then became a Pony Express station. This place wasn’t there for our families to stop at since, they traveled in 1849 and 1852. Picked up a brochure for the Rock Creek Station which was the next camping stop for the emigrants et al. and saw that they had camping with electric hook-up.
We crossed into Nebraska with little fanfare--only a small sign to mark the border. Land was now hilly with lots of gullies and dry looking scrubby trees. Found the Rock Creek Station Historical Park about 5 miles east
of Fairbury and spent the night. No one else in park. Had lots of campsites set up for camping with your horse. Visitors center opens at 10 so will sleep late.
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