Known as the Emigrant Road, this route was favored by the Hudson’s Bay Company during the mid-1800s. The road ran from Snake River in the north to South-Central Idaho. As an alternative to the Oregon Trail, which tended to be difficult, the Hudson’s Bay Company traders used it to go between Fort Hall and Fort Boise.
Emigrants, on the other hand, had to take a route further south since the road was not initially designed to allow for wagons. With later improvements, emigrants would be able to use this route.
There is a dispute amongst historians as to whether this road was part of the North Alternate to the Oregon Trail, which would have made it part of the Oregon Trail System.
Historical Marker Inscription
More than a century ago, fur trappers and emigrants followed an old Indian trail that crossed here on its way to Oregon.
Hudson’s Bay Company traders preferred this route between Fort Hall and Fort Boise, but early emigrant wagons had to travel a road south of Snake River until ferries and road improvements let wagons come this way. Shoshone Falls — known until 1849 as Canadian Falls to British and French trappers — was a spectacular attraction along this road.
Location
42° 37’ 13.032” N, 114° 26’ 57.978” W
US-93 N, Jerome, ID 83338, United States
Historical Markers of the World 