The passage of time and creeping vegetation have narrowed to a single track some portions of the historic Santiam Wagon Road, which opened Central Oregon to settlers from the West in 1866.

Yet grave markers alongside the road, and stories told by history buffs, serve as reminders of the challenging conditions that Oregon pioneers faced in the state’s early days.

On Tuesday, the State Historic Preservation Office announced the federal government had recognized the wagon road’s historical value by adding part of the trail to the National Register of Historic Places in late September. Read the rest of my story here.