The above monument was erected at the crest of the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains in modern Wyoming. The monument was erected by Ezra Meeker, who had traveled the Oregon Trail as a young man and became the father of the movement to protect places associated what was the great adventure of his younger days. Ezra and his team of oxen traveled the trail numerous times promoting trail preservation. He also drove the trail and flew the trail and had he thought about it he might have tried to ski the trail. Ezra is a classic example of what one dedicated person with a passion can do. Due in no small part to his efforts and those he inspired the Oregon Trail was designated by Congress as a National Historic Trail.