Which states did the Santa Fe Trail cut through when it first "opened
for business" in 1821?

Hello sushmita780-ga,

The Santa Fe Trail cut through 1 *state* when it "opened for business"
on Sept. 21st, 1821. That state was Missouri. Missouri became a state
on August 10, 1821.

As far as Kansas, Kansas didn't become a state until 1861, becoming
the 34th state in the US.
http://www.accesskansas.org/facts-history/

"Colorado became a territory in 1861 and earned its "Centennial State"
nickname by becoming a state in 1876."
http://www.superpages.com/cities/unitedstates/Colorado-more.html

New Mexico was the 47th state and it became a state at 1:35 P.M., January 6, 1912/
http://www.sos.state.nm.us/BLUEBOOK/hist07.htm

On November, 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state.
http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/stinfo2.html

I have included Oklahome since the Cinnamaron Route of the trail cut through OK.

"From its eastern-most point at Old Franklin, Missouri, the Trail
traveled west to Cimarron, Kansas, where it split into two routes. The
original Trail, the Cimarron Route, headed southwest across the corner
of Colorado, Oklahoma, and into New Mexico. The Mountain Route headed
west into Colorado and then south to New Mexico, across the rugged
Raton pass."
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/nebraska/gpng/santafe_trail.html

So, there you have it.
If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.
Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

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Request for Answer Clarification by sushmita780-ga on 23 Nov 2004 17:00 PST

This is part of the Marlboro Outwit the West II Contest.  Every single
word has a meaning ...  and I am wondering that since it says "states"
PLURAL, if that means anything ...

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Clarification of Answer by nenna-ga on 23 Nov 2004 21:38 PST

Hello again,

To me, it means that it's not true. It has to be state, not states. I
wish you the best of luck.

Nenna-GA

thank you for such a clear answer!

The trail went from Missouri through Kansas, part of Colorado and into
New Mexico.  However, none of the 4 states that the trail ran through
at that date were states.  The trail started in Missouri, ran through
Kansas and Colorado, before reaching New Mexico.  The end of the trail
was Santa Fe, New Mexico, which didn't become a state until 1916.

Bottom line - there were no states in 1821 that the trail passed
through, only Territories.

You might want to think about when the trail opened.  The link below
is from the state of Missouri's web site.  Missouri became a state on
August 10, 1821.  The Santa Fe Trail was opened on September 1, 1821.

http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/timeline/timeline3.asp

Sushmita780-ga,

Thank you for you kind words and rating. I'm glad I could be of help.

Nenna-GA