Stretching from central Missouri to northern New Mexico, the Santa Fe trail was one of America's most historically important arteries, playing an essential role in opening up the West to settlement. From the first Spanish conquistadors to the discovery of Boone's Lick; from the Sand Creek Massacre to the man who popularized a cure for malaria, It Happened on the Santa Fe Trail takes some of most important episodes from the histories of Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and popularizes them, making them fun and accessible to readers of all ages.