To the Wide Missouri : Westholme : 9781594163302 : 1594163308 : 15 Aug 2019 : The Fascinating History of the Rapid Expansion of Roads, Canals, and Railways in the First Decades of the United States While the great overland migration routes to America&;s far west are well known and documented&;the California, Oregon, Mormon, and Santa Fe Trails, the Central Overland and Pony Express&;less attention has been given to how Americans in the first decades of the republic traveled across the western frontiers of the original colonies. Following the revolution, Americans began to seek their fortunes to the west in greater numbers. Land grants to veterans inspired others to move, including tradesmen, merchants, and tavern owners. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the country doubled in size, and the rate of migration became extraordinary, with wider and more durable roads built, ferries installed at river crossings, canals cut to move goods, regular stage routes established, and ultimately t