author
Ezra Meeker
1830–1928
A restless pioneer, businessman, and storyteller, he crossed the Oregon Trail in 1852 and spent much of his long later life making sure its history would not be forgotten. His adventures ranged from frontier farming to public campaigns that helped turn the trail into a lasting part of American memory.
3 Audiobooks
Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail
by Ezra Meeker, Howard R. (Howard Roscoe) Driggs
Kate Mulhall : A romance of the Oregon Trail
by Ezra Meeker
About the author
Born in Ohio in 1830, Ezra Meeker headed west with his family by ox-drawn wagon in 1852, following the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest. He later settled in what became Puyallup, Washington, where he and his wife Eliza Jane helped establish the community.
Meeker was more than a trail pioneer. He became a successful farmer and merchant, earned fame in the hop trade, and wrote extensively about his experiences. That mix of practical frontier work and lively self-promotion helped make him a well-known regional figure.
In his later years, he became one of the strongest public advocates for preserving the Oregon Trail. He retraced the route, marked important sites, and spoke widely about pioneer history, helping shape how later generations remembered westward migration. He died in 1928, after a life that stretched from the wagon era into the age of automobiles and airplanes.