Colorado’s Historic Trails: A Journey Through Time

OCTA announces its 42nd Annual Convention, Colorado’s Historic Trails: A Journey Through Time, Sept. 7–12 at Pueblo's Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conf. Center

PUEBLO, CO, UNITED STATES, August 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) is proud to announce its 42nd Annual Convention, Colorado’s Historic Trails: A Journey Through Time, brought to you by the “Presenting Sponsor,” Farmland Reserve. The convention will be held from September 7–12, 2025, at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo, Colorado.

This year’s convention invites history enthusiasts, scholars, and the public to explore the rich and complex heritage of southern Colorado’s emigrant trails. Through in-depth tours, engaging speakers, and hands-on workshops, attendees will retrace the footsteps of Native nations, Spanish expeditions, American explorers, mountain men, and others who shaped the region.

Convention Highlights

Workshops (Sunday, September 7): Explore both historical and modern skills including sourdough starters, trading post crafts, metal detecting, field mapping, and more. A special community workshop will introduce newcomers to OCTA’s mission and work. This event is open to the public to attend for a fee.

Speaker Sessions (Tuesday, Sept. 9 & Thursday, Sept. 11): Featuring notable historians and experts like Dr. James Holmes Armstead, Jr., John Wesley Anderson, Jim Hardee, and others, topics will range from Manifest Destiny and early expeditions to tribal perspectives on the Sand Creek Massacre. A unique panel of Cheyenne and Arapahoe representatives will offer firsthand cultural insight into this tragic chapter of American history.
Tours (Wednesday, Sept. 10 & Friday, Sept. 12): All-day guided tours will visit landmark trail sites including Bent’s Old Fort, El Pueblo Trading Post, Kit Carson’s Boggsville, Fort Garland, Old Colorado City, and sections of the Cherokee Trail with visible emigrant wagon ruts. There is even a walking tour of Pueblo history of this timeframe along the beautiful Pueblo Riverwalk.

Special Events:

Author’s Night (Tuesday evening) at the Helen T. White Gallery: Meet authors and purchase signed books. Open to the public for free.

Convention Reception (Monday evening) at El Pueblo Museum. For convention attendees.

Awards Dinner (Wednesday evening) and Live Auction Dinner (Thursday evening), both at the conference center. For convention attendees.

Throughout the convention, vendors will be onsite selling historical items, books, and handmade crafts during speaker and dinner sessions.

“This year’s convention is not just a historical look backward—it’s a celebration of Colorado’s cultural crossroads and a recognition of voices that haven’t always been heard,” said Ethan Gannett, convention chairman and Vice-President of OCTA. “We invite all who are curious about the American West to take this journey through time with us.”

Registration is now open at https://octa-trails.org. Space is limited for tours and workshops, so early sign-up is recommended. Workshops are open to the public for a fee. Author’s night is also open to the public.
---
About OCTA:
The Oregon-California Trails Association is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of historic overland trails and the emigrant experience. For over four decades, OCTA has worked with historians, archaeologists, Indigenous communities, and the public to document America’s trail legacy.

A special thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, Farmland Reserve. Farmland Reserve is an integrated investment auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For nearly a hundred years, Farmland Reserve has invested in agriculture as a safe, prudent way to preserve and grow the Church’s financial reserves. Through their taxable, for-profit AgReserves subsidiary, they grow food that helps feed the world, and they make meaningful contributions in the communities where we live and work.

F Travis Boley
Oregon-California Trails Association
+1 816-252-2276
email us here

Colorado’s Historic Trails: A Journey Through Time - OCTA's 42nd Annual Convention

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.