Historical Image of the Day

This week's images will look at the Overland Trail (i.e. the Oregon and California Trails, though one might include the Mormon Trail in that as well) in history and memory.

Team of horses pulling machinery over the Overland Trail, 1900.

I think this is an interesting picture because it shows that these trails were still getting use a good 30 years after they stopped serving any real value for overland migrants. I also love the combination of industrial and pre-industrial America with the horse team pulling the giant Gilded Age machinery.