Whitman, came west to bring Christianity to the American Indians. Reports from these missionaries greatly stimulated Eastern America?s interest in the rich land awaiting them in Oregon. The first organized party of emigrants set out in 1841 under the leadership of John Bidwell. They were the first in a trickle of emigrants that would swell to a flood in the years to come. The generally recognized start of significant movement west has been established as 1843.

The U.S. Congress memorialized the vital role the Oregon Trail played in our nation?s history in 1978, when the trail was designated a National Historic Trail. The intent of the public law was to designate the primary route of the Oregon Trail, extending full length between Independence, Missouri, and Oregon City, Oregon.

Bear Lake County is not only a significant part of the Oregon Trail as signifying it?s entrance into Idaho, but Montpelier is also the key intersection for Highway 89. Highway 89 is the National Parks Highway that connects all the National Parks in the west from the Mexican border on the south to the Canadian Border on the north. Tourists numbering in the thousands travel Highway 89 to reach Yellowstone National Park each summer.