History of the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter
 The Missouri River Outfitters Chapter originated in a trail ride
organization formed in 1987, about the time that Congress designated the
Santa Fe Trail as a National Historic Trail. At the time, the organization's
intent was to promote the trail by way of members presenting programs to
civic and school groups, and to provide a support system for members who
planned to travel by horseback on any or all parts of the Santa Fe and related
trails. In 1988, the group incorporated as a not-for-profit status through
the state of Missouri, and chose the name Santa Fe Trail Riders-1988.
In February of 1991, Trail Riders member Jane Mallinson advertised through local publications that a meeting would be held at the National Frontier Trails Center for
those interested in forming a local chapter of the Santa Fe Trail
Association. On February 21, 1991, 31 people gathered for the beginning of
what became the Missouri River Outfitters. Of those in attendance, three
were original members of the previous trail ride organization. Because the
intent of the organizations was the same, those three agreed to participate
in a name change and transfer over the not-for-profit incorporation status
to the new SFTA chapter. The first president was Roger Slusher, elected
April 18, 1991.
Since that time, the chapter has sponsored numerous bus tours and programs.
Bus tours have been guided by the late Lou Schumacher, the late Pauline
Fowler, Roger Slusher, and Ross Marshall.
MRO member Ross Marshall leads a tour of the Black Jack Ruts
The chapter has provided books on the Santa Fe Trail to libraries (both public and academic), and helped research and fund the placement of markers to highlight trail exposure. The chapter has partnered with the National Frontier Trails Center (now the
National Frontier Trails Museum) and with other local trail organizations on projects and presentations that educate the public on the Trails themselves and their historical impact upon the emerging American identity. We have sponsored programs on firearms, mules, wagons, individuals important to local and national trail history, foods and clothing of the trail period, mapping
criteria, GPS site points, and many other subjects that help members keep abreast of trail events as they navigate their own journey through history.
Location and Directions
The Missouri River Outfitters (MRO) chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association has responsibility for the Trail in the Missouri counties of Howard, Saline, Lafayette and Jackson. The MRO also has stewardship of the Santa Fe Trail in Johnson and Douglas counties of eastern Kansas.
Meetings are held at various places along the trail. The most regular location is the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri.
Click map for larger version for print...please be patient with large file size.
 |
|
 |
| Heart of the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter
Points of Interest |
|
Heart of the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter Events and News |
A few of the many sites of interest along the Santa Fe Trail within the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter Area are listed here. |
|
Read all about us in our latest newsletter!
Click here to view planned events. |
Recent Chapter Activities
Two projects currently in progress in the Missouri River Outfitters section of the Trail are
the Gardner Junction Trail Development at Junction Park (west of Gardner, Kansas),
and the placement of a number of stone-post trail markers at locations in the Greater Kansas City area.
 The Gardner Junction project is the result of a wide-ranging partnership that includes the Santa Fe Trail Association, Oregon – California Trails Association (OCTA), City of Gardner, National Park Service, Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas State Historical Society, Gardner Museum, Gardner Historical Society, Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association, and Trails Head Chapter of OCTA as well as the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of SFTA. Junction Park, on US 56, a mile west of Gardner, is a triangular plot of land located near the point where the emigrant trails to Oregon and California split from the older wagon road to Santa Fe. When completed in 2007, the project will feature a 400-foot looped walking path leading from a parking lot and shelter house. There will be both interpretive and information signs to tell the visitor what happened at that location and to inform them of trail points of interest to the east and to the west. The hope is to eventually have similar sites located along the trail in both directions.
Stone-post marker at Bannister Mall in Kansas City, Missouri, dedicated during the 2003 SFTA convention. The inset shows details of the signs mounted in each post.
A trail marking project by the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association began in 2001 through the efforts of longtime MRO Preservation Officer Jane Mallinson and other members. In 2003, the first of these distinctive stone-post markers were placed along the common routes of the Santa Fe Trail, and the Oregon and California Trails through the southern part of Kansas City, Missouri. The stone posts all come from Kansas’ famous “Post Rock Country.” Inset into each post are signs identifying the two trails, displaying their appropriate National Park Service logo, and identifying the marker as an MRO project. Individuals and other organizations, such as the Historical Society of New Santa Fe, have contributed to the project by purchasing some of the stone posts. To date, posts have been installed at the Bannister Mall parking lot in Kansas City; Santa Fe Trail Park in Independence; Raytown High School in Raytown; at the corner of Holmes and Santa Fe Trail Street in Kansas City; on Avila University’s campus at the corner of Oak and Santa Fe trail Street in Kansas City, and at Blue Ridge Elementary School in Raytown. Three more posts are ready to be installed: two on Santa Fe Trail Street between Wornall and State Line Road in Kansas City, and one 3118 North River Road in Independence. Additional sites have also been selected to receive posts in the future.
Membership
Anyone interested in the Santa Fe Trail is welcome to join the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association.
• Dues are $10 per year for either a family or individual membership.
• Members receive the MRO Newsletter published quarterly and additional notices of chapter activities.
• Consistent with the recently adopted changes in SFTA bylaws, all MRO chapter members are strongly encouraged to join the national Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA). To download an SFTA application, click here. To download the MRO membership form, click here.
The Board of Directors of the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter
Meets several times each year to conduct chapter business and plan meetings, field trips, projects, and other activities.
Left to Right: Lee Kroh, Craig Crease, Pat Marshall, Dorothy Kroh, Ross Marshall, Jane Mallinson, Barbara Atkinson, and John Atkinson at Cottonwood Crossing during SFTA Convention 2005
|
