Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and is hereby, directed, to appoint a board of two members, one of them being a United States Army engineer and the other a civilian, to make a preliminary survey for a military and post highway from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Olympia, Washington, said military highway to follow the following route as near as may be: From Saint Louis to Kansas City, Missouri, following as near as may be the general route of what is commonly known as the "Old Trail." From Kansas City, following the joint Santa Fe and Oregon trails for about forty miles to the city of Gardner, Kansas; thence following the general route of the Oregon Trail to Topeka, Kansas, and from Topeka thence to the State line of Nebraska; thence, following said trail, to the Platte River, and thence along the most practical route near the right bank of the said Platte River to a point where, in the judgment of said board, they may decide as to the best point to cross said river, said crossing to be below or at the junction of the north and south forks of said river; thence, as near as may be, along the left river bank of said North Platte River to the State line of Wyoming; thence by the best general route to a point where the Old Trail diverges from said river to the left bank of the Sweetwater River near the landmark known as Independence Rock; thence up Sweetwater River to a point where said Old Trail leaves said river and ascends to the summit of the Rocky Mountains in the South Pass, and thence to the nearby point known as Pacific Springs; thence to Bear River Valley and the State line of Idaho; thence down said valley to Soda Springs and to Pocatello, Idaho; thence to American Falls, Idaho, and to the best crossing of the Snake River; thence to and down the Boise Valley to Boise City, Idaho; thence to recrossing of Snake River and to Huntington in the State of Oregon; thence to La Grande, Oregon; thence over the Blue Mountains to the city of The Dalles, Oregon; thence through the Columbia River Gap to Vancouver on the right bank of the Columbia River in the State of Washington; thence to the city of Olympia, Washington; following generally the Old Oregon Trail and other trails followed by the pioneers in going from Saint Louis to Puget Sound, utilizing, wherever practicable, roads and highways already existing.
Sec. 2. That said board shall report as to the cost, the location of said highway, and the character of construction that they deem advisable for such highway.
Sec. 3. That said board shall also take up with the State authorities in the States through which the said road shall pass and report what co-operation can be secured from such States in the construction and maintenance of such road.
Sec. 4. That the board shall also report on the advisability of employing the United States Army in the construction of any portion of said road.
Sec. 5. That the name of said road shall be "Pioneer Way."
See. 6. That the sum of $75,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of defraying the expense in connection with such survey.
"At the hearing before the House Committee on Military Affairs, H. R. 9137, A Bill 'To survey and locate a Military and Post Road from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Olympia, Washington,' Ezra Meeker, of Seattle, Washington, was called before the Committee and made an oral plea favoring the passage of the bill and filed a statement, a copy of which appears below":
The bill before you authorizing the locating and survey of a great National Highway to be known as "Pioneer Way," as a tribute to the memory of the pioneers, has a deeper significance than that of sentiment, though fully justified from that motive alone.
It is well to remember that the possession of the Oregon country hung in the balance for many years; that a number of our statesmen of the Nineteenth Century, including Jefferson himself, did not believe we should attempt to incorporate this vast territory, the Oregon country, as a part of the United States, Jefferson even going so far as advocating an independent government in that, to him then, land of mystery.