It was in 1852, apparently, that the little-used name “Capitol Hills” was first applied to Scotts Bluff by Hosea Horn and other guidebook writers. The origin of this name is suggested in the Sexton diary of June 10:
Made our noon halt opposite Scott’s Bluff, altogether the most symmetrical in form and the most stupendous in size of any we have seen. One of them is close in its resemblance to the dome of the Capitol in Washington.
There is a pass through that is guarded on one side by Sugar Loaf Rock, on the other by one that resembles a square house with an observatory. It is certainly the most magnificent thing I ever saw.
In the National Wagon Road, a guidebook by W. Wadsworth based on a trip of 1852, Scotts Bluff is one of the three major landmarks described on the whole California Road: “Here is some of the most beautiful and picturesque scenery upon the whole route.” Wadsworth labels the Scotts Bluff of today as “Convent Rock.” In 1853 Frederick Piercy made a remarkable sketch of the bluffs, with buffalo-hunters in the foreground. He referred to these bluffs as “certainly the most remarkable sight I have seen since I left England.”
THE OREGON TRAIL
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OREGON TRAIL ST. JOSEPH KANSAS CITY MARYSVILLE OGALLALA LOWER CALIFORNIA CROSSING JULESBURG SCOTTS BLUFF FORT LARAMIE INDEPENDENCE ROCK SWEETWATER SOUTH PASS FORT BRIDGER SODA SPRINGS FORT HALL SNAKE RIVER FORT BOISE LA GRANDE FORT WALLA WALLA WHITMAN MISSION COLUMBIA RIVER THE DALLES FORT VANCOUVER OREGON CITY ASTORIA LEWIS AND CLARK ST. LOUIS MISSOURI RIVER YELLOWSTONE RIVER COLUMBIA RIVER CALIFORNIA ROAD SODA SPRINGS HUMBOLDT RIVER LAKE TAHOE DONNER PASS PLACERVILLE SUTTERS FORT SAN FRANCISCO BOZEMAN TRAIL FORT LARAMIE VIRGINIA CITY MORMON TRAIL NAUVOO COUNCIL BLUFFS OMAHA GRAND ISLAND FORT KEARNEY ... FORT BRIDGER SALT LAKE CITY VIRGIN RIVER (to LOS ANGELES) SANTA FE TRAIL ST. LOUIS INDEPENDENCE COUNCIL GROVE BENT’S FORT PURGATOIRE CIMARRON CUT-OFF SANTA FE OLD SPANISH TRAIL SANTA FE VIRGIN RIVER (to LOS ANGELES) Note: For modern names not shown see your automobile maps. APRIL 1958 NB 7007
THE OREGON TRAIL NEAR SCOTTS BLUFF
ROBIDOUX AND MITCHELL PASS ROUTES
![[High-resolution Map]](#5251988903657647328_map2_hr.jpg.id-7283369935516707106.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}