The Santa Fe Trail was America’s first commercial highway. Traders established the trail—which connected Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico and covered some 900 miles of the Great Plains—in 1821. Before its demise due to the completion of the Santa Fe railroad, the Santa Fe Trail served as a thoroughfare for countless traders, pioneers and America’s military, and it played a crucial role in America’s westward expansion.
his fear of allowing Mattie to depart on her own
