Interpreting the narratives and themes in the memorials and markers commemorating the Santa Fe Trail
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Between March and July 2021, I traveled the routes of the Santa Fe Trail from Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, documenting the memorials and markers placed to commemorate the trail's use from 1821 until 1880. Photographs of the markers and memorials were taken, and their locations were recorded by GPS. Finally, written information on the memorials and historical markers was extracted to identify the common themes visible to tourists. Three major themes emerged: Physical Landscape, Economics, and Government Involvement. The physical landscape theme documents physical features that affected the trail's routing, traversing, and hardships endured. The economics theme relates to the trail being primarily used for commercial trading and the industries founded to support the logistics of trail movement. Government involvement describes military and regulatory efforts that aided in conducting trade operations with a foreign power and interactions with indigenous peoples. Each theme will be briefly explored with historical context and the implications of their significance for remembering the past along the Santa Fe Trail.
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M.A.