trade route between Santa Fe, N.Mex., & Independence, Mo.: important from 1821 to 1880
See Santa Fe Trail in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A trade route to the southwest United States extending about 1,287 km (800 mi) westward from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. First traversed in 1821, it was the primary wagon and stage route to the Southwest until the coming of the railroad in 1880.