Hidden Journals, Forgotten Records, and the Trail That Ran Past My Home
- Angela Hahn
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
This week I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow historian, Larry Obermesik, and I’m still thinking about what he’s uncovered.
Larry discovered a set of illustrated journals tucked away in Rhode Island, written by a man who spent fifteen years traveling four of the major migration trails heading west. These weren’t quick trips or passing mentions. The journals offer a steady, lived-in account of what travel was really like in the late 1850s, throughout the 1860s, and into the early 1870s, years that shaped the territorial West in ways we’re still trying to fully understand.
One of the trails he traveled was the Cherokee Trail. That detail stopped me in my tracks, because the Cherokee Trail ran right past the spot where I now live. It’s one thing to read about a route on a map; it’s another to realize that the ground outside your door once carried wagons, families, and the daily uncertainties of westward movement, and that someone wrote it down as it happened. His journal entry of July 4, 1959, was written fifteen miles north of Pueblo at a place he and his companions named Independence Camp.
Larry compiled these journals into a book, and it’s a must-read for anyone interested in the territorial West of the United States. The value isn’t just in dates and destinations; it’s in the texture of the journey: the realities of distance, weather, supplies, decisions, and the human endurance required to keep going.
And the journals weren’t the only discovery.
Larry also found forgotten court records tucked away out of view. In those records, he identified the first settlers in the area where he and I now live, between Fountain and Pueblo, Colorado. What makes this especially remarkable is that the history he uncovered was previously unknown to present-day historians. These weren’t stories that had simply been overlooked; they were stories that had effectively been hidden.
Discoveries like this are why local history matters. They remind us that the past isn’t finished revealing itself, and that sometimes the most important pieces are waiting quietly in places no one thinks to look.
Larry’s work is amazing, and the history he has brought to light is genuinely fascinating. I’m grateful I got to meet him, and I’m excited to share more as I continue reading and learning from what he’s found.
If you’re interested in the migration trails, early Colorado settlement, or the lived experience of the territorial West, keep an eye out for Larry Obermesik’s book; you’ll want it on your shelf. You can see the book and where to buy it, as well as videos and interactive maps, on Larry’s website, The Lost Gold Rush Journals.
About Larry: Larry Obermesik is a historian whose research has brought overlooked primary sources back into view from a remarkable set of westward-travel journals discovered in Rhode Island to long-forgotten court records that reveal early settlers between Fountain and Pueblo, Colorado. His work adds new detail and texture to the story of the territorial American West.