An archive of research on historic trails and roads
Steve F. Russell, Ph.D., P.E.
Steve F. Russell Biographical Sketch
Steve is a retired Emeritus Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. He has been researching, locating, and GPS-documenting Historic Trails for the past 32 years. He grew up along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the Nez Perce National Historic Trail at Weippe and Powell, Idaho and at Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. His method of research is to use GIS tools to do approximate location of trails with the aid of original journals and maps, and GLO Plat maps from the National Archives. Then he spends several weeks each summer tent camping and hiking to locating the actual trail tread and document it with GPS.
He has an extensive collection of over 3000 trail photos. His trail documents include most of the historic trails of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah, such as the Oregon- California Trails, government explorations, Lewis and Clark, Nez Perce 1877 war trail, Lolo Trail National Historic Landmark, Ice Age Trail, Virginia City and Lewiston Wagon Road, and many others.
View DownloadVerendrye Explorations
Expedition in Search of the Pacific Ocean by Pierre and Francois Gaultier 1742-43
The Gaultier Brother's Expedition through North & South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska in 1742–1743 Based on a Journal, written by Francois Gaultier, Chevalier of the Verendrye, and his brother Pierre Gaultier, documenting an Expedition to reach the Western Sea, addressed to M. the Marquis of Beauharnois. 1742–43.
2020, version 10, 74 pages
Bird-Truax Trail 1866: Index Of Geographic Clues
Research has been completed on the topographic location of the Bird-Truax Trail—also called the Lolo Trail of 1866. This report documents the route and place names for future researchers. The database will be continually updated to improve its quality. Route description summary andGazetteer of place names and geographic features for the portion of the Trail between Lewiston and Hell Gate.
1990, PDF
View DownloadBird-Truax Trail of 1866: Nicholson Profile & Map Analysis
George Benson Nicholson was the civil engineer for the survey of the Virginia City and Lewiston Wagon Road project in 1866. Nicholson did two surveys, a course and distance survey of the Northern Nez Perces Trail (NNT) and a stake and chain survey for the wagon road survey. His survey of the NNT between Lolo, Montana and Green Saddle, Idaho was along the same trail followed by Lewis and Clark, except for a minor deviation between Moon Saddle and Indian Post Office. This document reports the research on his elevation profile and its extreme usefulness in finding the actual trail. Mathematical techniques were used to compensate for barometric altimeter variations due to weather. The research was completed before the discovery of Nicholson’s papers in the Ashland University Archives, Ashland, Ohio. (PDF)
1996, PDF
View DownloadGeographic Report on the Bird-Truax Trail
This paper documents the history and geographical location of the Bird-Truax Trail surveyed in 1866 which was the mountainous segment of the planned Virginia City and Lewiston Wagon Road that was never built. This wagon road was a federally-funded project in 1866 and was proposed to be built from Lewiston in Idaho Territory to Virginia City in Montana Territory. It failed because of the high cost of materials and labor in the newly-discovered gold country and because the terrain through the Bitter Root mountains was so severe. This trail is now historically called the Lalo Trail although its predecessor, the Northern Nez Perces Trail, was known by the gold miners as the Lou Lou Trail.
1990, PDF
View DownloadThe Carroll Trail
The Carroll Trail was a wagon road for transporting goods from Carroll Landing on the Missouri River to Helena, Montana. Part 1 explains the basic facts about the trail and answers anticipated reader questions. Part 2 describes the 1875 trip of Captain William Ludlow from Carroll to Camp Baker. Part 3 is an account of the 1874 trip from Helena to Camp Lewis made by Captain Constant Williams and Company F of the 7th U.S. Infantry. Part 4 contains a narrative of the author's 1988 trip from Carroll to Camp Baker. Photos of the author’s 1988 trip are in Appendix A. Maps of the campsites and landmarks in the Williams Journal are in Appendix B. Appendix C. contains the author’s hand-drawn maps for the newspaper article. Appendix D. contains a series of topographic maps documenting the trail route (only available in the unabridged version of this report).
1989, PDF
View DownloadCamp Lewis: Established in Montana
Letters and Journal of the 1874 Trip from Fort Shaw to Camp Lewis by Captain Constant Williams and Company F of the 7th U.S. Infantry. In April and May of 1874, Williams traveled to establish a military post named Camp Lewis along the Carroll Trail. This military post was established for the protection of travelers of the Carroll Trail from Carroll Landing, on the Missouri River to Helena.
2015, PDF
View DownloadLewis & Clark Lolo Trail Precision Survey: Summary of Research Results
In 2001 and 2002, Steve F. Russell and survey assistants, Theo Petersen and Matt Battani, hiked the trail followed by Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery from Lolo Pass, Idaho-Montana to Weippe, Idaho. This trail tread was recorded with a Trimble Pathfinder Pro XRS precision GPS to an accuracy of 3 meters. This book documents this effort and contains topographic maps of the trail along the entire route.
2005, PDF
View DownloadLewis And Clark Campsite 1805-09-09(P)-28
This campsite is well know to the Lewis and Clark Trail community. It was a popular camping place for Salish, Nez Perce, and early Explorers. The location was at the junction of the Lolo Trail (from Lolo, Montana to Kamiah, Idaho) with the 1806 Bitterroot Trail (from Missoula, Montana to Gibbon’s Pass). The Corps of Discovery was camped there a total of 5 days in 1805-06. The campsite was originally thought to be near the mouth of Lolo Creek (as interpreted by an old highway marker on US 93) but all the Journal evidence from 1805-06 and the Nicholson survey of 1866 placed it at, or near, the location given in this report. In recent years the interpreted location has been moved to its present location, and is interpreted by the Travelers Rest State Park. Despite archeological digs, the location is still debated, although the location most researchers have identified are within 1000 feet of each other – very good agreement when locating historic campsites. This author’s most current research placed the camp on a dry bench-land adjacent to the creek, and on the south side.
1999, PDF
View DownloadLewis And Clark Landmark 1806-07-05(1)L (Clearwater Crossing)
In July of 1806, Meriwether Lewis and a small group of men from the Corps of Discovery main party, traveled eastward from Travelers Rest Camp, following the main Indian trail up the Big Blackfoot River in Montana. On July 5, they crossed the Clearwater River. This document reports on the research for the location of the trail and crossing that they used. The crossing by Russell is based on the Journal accounts. The crossing by Cox is based on a wagon road swale found by field exploration. The crossing by Bergantino is based on his research map of the area. For purposes of interpretation of Lewis & Clark, one of the crossings by Russell or Cox should be used.
2015, PDF
View DownloadLewis And Clark Over Lost Trail Pass
This report is one of five research reports that were compiled into a document entitled: "The Mystery of Lost Trail Pass," James Fazio, Ed, 2000. It describes in detail how the researcher analyzed the Lewis and Clark Journals and the associated topography of the area to create a description of the trail route and campsite used by Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Research methodology and conclusions are described in detail.
2000, PDF
View DownloadLewis And Clark Trail, 1806 Ordway Route
This is a brochure preparied by the Idaho Fish and Game that is entitled “Lewis and Clark Expedition: Sgt. Ordway’s Salmon River Fishing Expedition. It contains photos, maps, and descriptions of the route taken by Ordway in 1806 from Kamiah, Idaho to the Snake River at Cougar Rapids Bar. Map and text information was provided in 2002 by Steve F. Russell, Historic Trails Research, Ames, Iowa.
Brochure, 2002, PDF
View DownloadOrdway's Salmon River Fishing Expedition 1806
This document is a research report on the salmon fishing expedition of Sgt. John Ordway of the Corps of Discovery under the command on Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. This route and the effort of Ordway remained largely unnoticed until this research was completed and published. It has been the collaboration of Steve F. Russell, Historic Trails Research, Sam McNeill of the Idaho Fish and Game, and John A. K. Barker. The logistics were funded by a Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Assistance Grant from the State of Idaho. Research analysis, descriptions, and detailed maps of the route are included. On public land and on private land, with permission, the trail tread was hiked and campsites were examined. Both have been recorded with GPS. The Idaho Fish and Game have also prepared a brochure with descriptions and maps for self discovery.
2003, PDF
View DownloadLewis and Clark Trail, In Their Footsteps
A presentation of the research results and methods of Steve F. Russell, Historic Trails Research, Ames, Iowa. Presented at the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana by invitation of the Headwaters Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Heritage Foundation. Photos and Maps.
2004, PDF
View DownloadLewis and Clark Trail, The Riddle of Hungery Creek, Idaho
Fascination with the route and camping places of Lewis and Clark has remained strong for more than 100 years. With the approaching bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery, this interest is only intensifying. What is more, increasing numbers of people are interested in following the route themselves-not always a wise idea, as is certainly the case with the area described here.
This is the first in a series of articles that Steve Russell is preparing on his research of the route and camping sites as the Corps of Discovery crossed the mountains from the Missouri River basin to the Columbia River basin. Their passage through Hungery Creek and Fish Creek took them across what is now the Clearwater National Forest of north-central Idaho. They came through the area four times, once in 1805 and three times in 1806. The documentation of their various journals leaves us with a wealth of clues as to the route they followed, although William Clark's maps for this area are of limited value because of their topographic distortion.
Idaho Yesterdays, The Journal of the Idaho State Historical Society, Volume 44 No. 1, Spring 2000, pages 19-31.
2000, PDF
View DownloadLolo Trail National Historic Landmark: A Plan For Its Documentation And Preservation
The Lolo Trail is a mountain trail in Northern Idaho that ranks secondonly to the Oregon Trail and the Mullan Wagon Road in its importance to Northwest U.S. History. Due to its remoteness, it may also be the most well preserved and documentable Native American trail left in the entire U.S. Aggressive documentation and preservation measures are urgently needed if the historic nature of the Lolo Trail is to be fully protected for future generations. These measures must be applied to the archaeological sites, removable artifacts, and the five actual routes or "paths" themselves. Documentation and preservation will involve photographic and radionavigation surveys, topographic location, definition of protection boundaries, and the protection of the existing routes against any type of rerouting. The most influential agency for effecting these changes is the Forest Service USDA. With their leadership, and the cooperation of interested historical groups and adjacent land owners, this documentation and preservation can become a reality.
1990, PDF
View DownloadLolo Trail: The Historic Land Bridge
On the Clearwater and Lolo National Forests, in the mountains of Northern Idaho and Western Montana, there is an ancient trail system that has been used for hundreds of years as a land bridge between the Columbia River basin and the Missouri River basin. The approximate route of this trail is westward up Lolo Creek from Lolo, Montana to Lolo Pass and then along the dividing ridge between the North and Middle Forks of the Clearwater River until reaching the Weippe Prairie near Weippe, Idaho. Recent research, using a combination of historical records, computer analysis tools, and extensive field exploration, has now provided conclusive proof that the erosion trace of this ancient trail system still exists and can be located in many places along the 130-mile length of the trail.
Presented at the 1994 Fall Heritage Resources Program Seminar, USDA Forest Service, Region 1, Powell Ranger District, Idaho, PDF
View DownloadMap of the Continental Divide and the Great Basin Divide
This map shows the most significant watershed boundaries in the western United States, the Great Continental Divide, and the Great Basin Divide. These watershed boundaries were drawn with great accuracy based on USGS topographic maps. Water does not flow out of either the Great Basin or the Great Divide Basin.
2017, PDF
View DownloadMap, Selkirk Land Grant, Assiniboia, Thomas Douglas, 1817
Map of 1817, Lord Selkirk's (Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk) Grant of 116,000 Square Miles, known as Assiniboia, Including the Forts. This land grant was in Canada and North Dakota and included the Red River of the North.
1817, PDF
View DownloadNez Perce Campaign 1877 Campaign Center Line
An interactive digital map of the route taken by the Nez Perce in 1877 as they fled from the U.S. Calvary and volumteer militia.
2018
ViewNez Perce National Historic Trail, 1877 Maps and GPS Waypoint Data
This is one of a series of trail research reports that Steve F. Russell is producing for public use. It is a summary of his research and contains only a map set and GPS waypoint data set. His usual coverage of history and research methods has been left out. The intent of these summary reports is to make them available to trail pounders and trail history enthusiasts as soon as possible.
As his age advances well beyond 65, the author's energy and stamina are decreasing to the point where he feels an urgency to get this form of his research into the hands of future generations who can continue it and improve it.
2018, PDF
View DownloadPrecision Surveying of Historic Trails
Scholarly research on historic trails with original journals, original maps, and modern field work (camping out all summer). Work with state, federal, Tribal, and historic preservation agencies. High-accuracy GIS results using ARCVIEW and precision GPS. Natural history documentation: geology, plants, animals. Archival results: publications and documentation in state historical society archives and journals.
2006, PDF
View DownloadVirginia City and Lewiston Wagon Road
Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior relating to the Virginia City, Montana–Lewiston, Idaho Wagon Road, 1865-1870 Complied from the file microcopies of records of the National Archives No. 95, Roll 13. This is the first research report from the microfilm records.
2001, PDF
View DownloadVirginia City And Lewiston Wagon Road Microfilm Records 1865-1870
This is a transcribed copy of the microfilm records of the Virginia City and Lewiston Wagon Road project of 1865-1870 by the federal government. Wellington Bird was the project supervisor and disbursing agent and George Benson Nicholson was the civil engineer. This project attempted to build a wagon road from Lewiston, Idaho to Virginia City but only succeeded in building a good trail, to a wagon road grade, from Weippe, Idaho to Lolo Pass, Montana-Idaho. The microfilm records contains both reports and letters.
1990, PDF
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