Where East meets West ~ The 98th Meridian

Take a look at our map. The line where the green ends and the brown begins is just about on the 98th Meridian West.  And it cuts right about where Fort Worth, Texas is. Where the West Begins.


As pioneers left the east behind, they often described the semi-arid plains as the Great American Desert. (Although it is described as beginning with the 100th Meridian.) The term desert used to mean a treeless area.

The comedic politician, Will Rogers, once reportedly joked - Fort Worth is Where the West begins and Dallas is where the East peters out.  

In 1849, a frontier post was manned by the U S Army named for Maj. Gen Worth. It only had one serious Indian encounter. However, a town was started beside the fort to offer supplies for stores and stagecoach routes.

A treaty with the Indians stated that they were to stay west of a line that was west of Fort Worth. Where the West began.

You can see on the map that the East was green and fertile. The West was wild and unsettled. But fertile land for the imagination and those looking for a new life. 

As the land was opened up and free land offered, wagon trains carried thousands west to a new life crossing the Rocky Mountains and traveling on to California and Oregon. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing where the east and west meet. In the time of American expansion, it was more a line where thousands left the east and traveled west looking for a better life. 

Patricia PacJac Carroll
My last book, Susan is a story of men and women who traveled west on the Oregon Trail.

Susan


A dispute between a mail-order bride and two men over the rights to a dead man's wagon and supplies on a wagon train to Oregon.

Susan has no place to return to.

John sees this as his chance to make a life for himself.

Ed wants to put away his past for a fresh start.

They make a deal with the wagon master that they will all go, but Susan will marry one of the men before they reach Oregon.Follow them on this life-changing journey.

Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084VV1VWX