<P> The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th - century transportation route through central North America that connected Independence , Missouri with Santa Fe , New Mexico . Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell , it served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880 . Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City . </P>
where did the santa fe trail take emigrants
connected Independence , Missouri with Santa Fe , New Mexico