• Utter Disaster, Oregon Trail - Murphy, Idaho

      utter family
      Photo by Peter Thody
      On September 9, 1860, the Elijah P. Utter wagon train came under attack by Indians. Over the next two days, 11 members of the 44-strong party including Elijah, his wife and a number of their children and an estimated 25-30 Indians were killed. Of those who escaped, including 18 children, some died of starvation (and were cannibalised), some were taken captive and others were killed and mutilated by Indians. When the Army finally rescued them on October 24, only 10 people remained. No wagon train on the Oregon Trail suffered greater losses.

      If you go:
      There's not actually anything to see other than the marker signs, but if you read up ahead of your visit, you will have a good idea of where the two attacks took place.

      Links:



      Weese Road
      3.7 miles north of the junction with Highway 78
      Murphy, Idaho 83650 USA

      Mailing address:
      Oregon-California Trails Association
      P.O. Box 1019
      Independence, Missouri 64051-0519 USA

      Phone Numbers:

      Oregon-California Trails Association
      +1 (816) 252-2276