Oregon Trail 6: Homestead National Historical Park - Rock Creek Station State Historical Park
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 24.29 mi
- Elevation gain
- 312 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 240 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,419 ft
- TrailRank
- 26
- Min elevation
- 1,247 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 46 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1082
- Uploaded
- April 9, 2020
- Recorded
- April 2020
near Hoag, Nebraska (United States)
Viewed 133 times, downloaded 1 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Although it appears serene, Rock Creek Station was the site of a shootout that birthed a legend. A young stable worker named James Hickok started on the path to becoming Wild Bill here, when he shot and killed David McCanles during a dispute over payments for the transfer of ownership of the site that is now Rock Creek Station State Historical Park in Fairbury, NE.
An early picture of the station shows little has changed since 1857, when the site was first established. Starting in 1859, travelers on the Oregon Trail and California Trail would have crossed the toll bridge that the McCanles brothers built here. Postal workers on the Pony Express would have also used the crossing. After July of 1861, visitors would have heard of the gunfight between David McCanles and James Hickok, and carried the story of “Wild Bill” into the west.
An early picture of the station shows little has changed since 1857, when the site was first established. Starting in 1859, travelers on the Oregon Trail and California Trail would have crossed the toll bridge that the McCanles brothers built here. Postal workers on the Pony Express would have also used the crossing. After July of 1861, visitors would have heard of the gunfight between David McCanles and James Hickok, and carried the story of “Wild Bill” into the west.
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