Closes June 20, 2004
More than 150 years ago, American pioneers first went west by covered wagon, crossing vast plains, formidable mountains and arid deserts. Overland is a traveling exhibition of 64 modern photographic images of the Trail route traveled overland from Missouri into California. Scholar and exhibition photographer Greg MacGregor relates,
“All the photographs were made standing directly in the ruts of the trail or looking straight at where they used to be. It was tempting to wander one hundred feet off to capture a spectacular image, but I resisted. The maps of the trail are very specific, and I followed them whether they lead under concrete, through cities, or under water.”
The photographic images of the exhibition are juxtaposed with fascinating excerpts from emigrants' diaries and popular nineteenth century guidebooks. Although the route is mostly unmarked today, MacGregor has researched and documented the eroded ruts, emigrant graves and wagon remains, as well as the campgrounds, golf courses and highways that currently cover the Trail. The exhibit presents a portrait of what the harsh journey was like for those with no idea of what lay ahead, and the ironies of the modern Western landscape.
The California/Oregon Trail is a two-thousand-mile-long trace across the country by which an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 emigrants traveled to settle California and Oregon between 1841 and 1869. The crossing usually took five or six months by wagon. It is estimated that, averaged over the entire length of the trail, one person died for every hundred yards, with most deaths resulting from cholera. On the other hand, nearly one-half million people survived the wearisome journey to begin their new lives in the West.
HSJ has added a local component to the exhibition focusing on the survivors who settled in the Santa Clara Valley, namely the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party. With a financial gift from the Daughters of the American Revolution, HSJ has contracted with Painting Conservator Pauline Mohr to conserve three paintings that will be included in the exhibition.
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