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Search for a Southern Route
The Southern Route
The Old Spanish Trail between new Mexico and California, on the
other hand, was regularly used, primarily for commerce, until it lost
out to the more southerly trails. In the exodus to California after
1848, the most heavily-traveled branch of the southern route was
Cooke's wagon road, including Graham's detour.
Transportation improved rapidly in the Southwest as the rush to
California accelerated and the newly-acquired southwestern region
began to attract American settlers. Cooke's route was improved, and
new roads were opened. Stagecoach travel was inaugurated, and
railroads soon entered the Southwest. A rail line spanning the region
finally brought the long haul by wagon over the old trails to an end.
But the centuries-old lure of California remained, and travel over the
southern route continued to expand.
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