Go West: U.S. Westward Expansion

Although the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, many western-bound settlers still depended on wagons, stagecoaches, boats, horses, and oxen to reach their destination. Sometimes the food ran out, even for soldiers For those in the northern part of the territories, gorgeous scenery could suddenly be obscured by snowstorms. Life was hard, and it showed on the faces of many pioneers.

• In Loup Valley (Nebraska) an 1886 family, searching for a new homestead, pose with their covered wagon.

• One family found land they wanted in Guthrie (now Oklahoma).

• Blacksmith shops were a necessity for folks traveling West. The one in Guthrie was open-air.

• About 36,000 people processed their land registrations in nine Orlando (Oklahoma Territory) booths.

• On September 16, 1893, people bound for Perry (Oklahoma Territory) raced to claim land. At 9 a.m., seven days later, a long line had formed at the U. S. Land Office as claimants (like W. H. McCoy) waited to file.

• Cornfields like those in Anadarko (Oklahoma Territory), served as tent towns while settlers staked out land claims.