Podcast
Mysterious Pacific Northwest
Hosted by Mysterious Pacific Northwest · EN
The pacific Northwest is home to some of the most beautiful places but also a mysterious dark history. From Big Foot to haunted cemeteries, serial killers, ship graveyards and notorious murders, each week your hosts Jen and Sarah will feature tales from the darkest places and people of the PNW.
47episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Long Road to Oregon: The Whitman Mission
May 2000:11:40Tap to summarizeFor the next episode of The Long Road to Oregon, we follow the story of the Whitman Mission—a place many emigrants passed through at the end of the trail, and where rising tension, disease, and cultural misunderstanding came to a breaking point in 1847.This episode looks beyond a single version of the story, tracing what led to that moment and what followed—through firsthand accounts, historical context, and the realities of a region already deeply lived in.Now streaming on all major podcast apps.#thelongroadtooregon #pnwhistory #oregontrail #historypodcast #americanhistory #nativehistory #pnwpodcastSources:https://www.nps.gov/whmi/learn/historyculture/index.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/articles/whitman-mission.htmhttps://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/whitman_massacre/https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/cayuse_war/https://www.historylink.org/file/5296https://www.historylink.org/file/5297https://www.britannica.com/event/Whitman-Massacrehttps://www.loc.gov/item/2006679053/https://www.loc.gov/collections/oregon-trail-miscellany/articles-and-essays/whitman-mission/https://www.whitman.edu/whitman-mission-historyhttps://www.nps.gov/whmi/learn/historyculture/cayuse.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/whmi/learn/historyculture/measles.htmhttps://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/whitman-massacre/https://www.wsna.org/whitman-mission-historyhttps://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/whitman-massacrehttps://www.historylink.org/File/5192
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The Long Road to Oregon: Sovereign Lands- The Native Peoples of the Oregon Trail
May 1800:18:13Tap to summarizeThis episode of The Long Road to Oregon, we’re tracing the trail through the homelands of the sovereign nations who lived along its length—Otoe-Missouria, Pawnee, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Chinookan peoples, and many more.This episode honors their history, their endurance, and the world emigrants entered long before the trail had a name.Sovereign Lands: The Native Peoples of the Oregon Trail, is out now everywhere you listen to Podcasts!#thelongroadtooregon #oregontrail #pnwhistory #historypodcast #indigenoushistory #nativehistory #oregonhistory #pnwpodcastSources:https://www.oregontrailcenter.org/indianshttps://historicoregoncity.org/2019/04/02/disrupting-the-natives/https://pacificu.libguides.com/c.php?g=1050460&p=7794169https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/death-on-trails.htmhttps://pacificu.libguides.com/c.php?g=1050460&p=7636236https://www.historylink.org/file/10365https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/war-on-the-oregon-california-trails.htmhttps://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_trail/https://www.human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/History/State_and_Local_History/Oregons_History%3A_People_of_the_Northwest_in_the_Land_of_Eden/01%3A_Chapters/1.04%3A_Native_Americans_in_the_Land_of_Eden-_An_Elegy_of_Early_Statehoodhttps://oregontrail101.com/native.htmlhttps://www.legendsofamerica.com/indians-emigrants/https://ndnhistoryresearch.com/2023/12/14/integrating-tribal-perspectives-into-an-oregon-trail-history/https://www.obbg.org/blog/2023/08/the-oregon-trail-and-indigenous-people-heritage/https://ctuir.org/about/brief-history-of-ctuir/https://www.oregontrailcenter.org/indianshttps://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_trail/https://www.oregontrail101.com/native.htmlhttps://www.historyonthenet.com/american-old-west-in-depthhttps://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/narratives/this-land-oregon/the-first-peoples/the-first-peoples/https://online.ucpress.edu/ch/article/99/3/53/189887/Retracing-The-Oregon-Trailhttps://www.nps.gov/articles/000/war-on-the-oregon-california-trails.htmhttps://www.ndnhistoryresearch.com/2023/12/14/integrating-tribal-perspectives-into-an-oregon-trail-history/https://www.eugenecascadescoast.org/blog/post/native-peoples/https://www.history.com/articles/oregon-trail
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The Long Road to Oregon: Women of the Oregon Trail- Hands that carried the West
May 1500:13:49Tap to summarizeFor this of The Long Road to Oregon, we’re following the women who walked the trail long before it became history. The women who delivered children between river crossings, drove wagons when tragedy struck, held families together through sickness, storms, loss, and miles of dust. Their stories, woven through diaries and memories, shaped the trail just as deeply as any wagon wheel. Women of the Oregon Trail: The Hands That Carried the West is out nowhere everywhere you stream Podcasts!#thelongroadtooregon #oregontrail #pnwpodcast #historypodcast #pnwhistory #oregonhistory #womenofthetrail #americanhistorySources:The Oregon Trail Was Filled with Hardship and Surprises, these 16 Facts Prove It - History CollectionMatilda and Elizabeth Sager, the Oregon Trail (U.S. National Park Service)Portland Center Stage | Portland Center Stagehttps://www.nps.gov/oreg/learn/historyculture/womenonthetrail.htmhttps://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/women_in_oregon_history/https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/women.htmhttps://www.loc.gov/item/2007664658/https://www.fwhistory.com/portfolio/women-on-the-oregon-trail/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4308423https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/owh/id/47577https://www.octa-trails.org/women-of-the-trailhttps://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Oregon_Trail:_Women_on_the_Trailhttps://www.historynet.com/oregon-trail/https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6dj8fx6https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/abigail-scott-duniway/#.XxpfcyhKiUkhttps://www.sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/duniwayhttps://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/sager.htm
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The Long Road To Oregon: The Meek Cutoff
May 1300:12:32Tap to summarizeWe’re launching a brand new Oregon Trail series—digging into the real stories behind the wagon ruts, the dangerous shortcuts, the lost parties, and the moments where hope and survival collided on the road west.Our first episode drops this week, starting with the Meek Cutoff, often called Oregon’s “other Donner Party.” A massive wagon train. A promised shortcut. A deadly desert passage. And a winter that nearly broke them long before the Willamette Valley came into view.Step into the trail with us. The Oregon Trail wasn’t just a road… it was a gamble—one many never returned from.#oregontrail #pnwpodcast #historypodcast #spookypodcast #truehistory #meekcutoff #oregonsdonnerparty #pacificnorthwest #graveyardofthepacific #podcastseries #historynerds #westwardexpansion #pnwhistory #americanhistory #storytellingpodcastSources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek_Cutoffhttps://www.oregonpioneers.com/CooleyDiary.htmhttps://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Meek_Cutoffhttps://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/king-burial-and-a-letter/https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295993096/the-meek-cutoff/https://www.historylink.org/File/10727https://oregonoverland.com/4-new.pdfhttps://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en%3AOregon_Historical_Quarterly/Volume_35/Route_of_Meek_Cut-Off%2C_1845https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwnmpghttps://historicoregoncity.org/2019/04/02/free-emigrant-road-1853/https://oregontic.com/oregon-historical-markers/cutoff-fever/https://www.oregonpioneers.com/CooleyDiary.htmhttps://www.oregonoverland.com/4-new.pdfhttps://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en%3AOregon_Historical_Quarterly/Volume_35/Route_of_Meek_Cut-Off%2C_1845https://thatoregonlife.com/2023/06/meek-cutoff-oregon-trail-1845/https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Meek_Cutoff
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The Long Road to Oregon: The blue death, Cholera on the Oregon Trail
May 1100:14:04Tap to summarizeFor our next episode on The Long Road to Oregon, we’re digging into one of the harshest realities emigrants faced on the trail: cholera.The sudden sickness that moved through camps without warning, took lives in hours, and left miles of quiet graves along the roadside. This chapter follows the real stories, the medical truth, and the families who tried to outrun a disease they didn’t understand.A hard piece of Oregon Trail history — but one that shaped every wagon that followed.The long road to Oregon: The blue death, Cholera on the Oregon Trail is out nowSources:https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/cholera-a-trail-epidemic.htmhttps://www.cdc.gov/cholera/index.htmlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2706430/https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_trail_health/#.Vt2U9_krKUkhttps://www.nps.gov/oreg/learn/historyculture/disease.htmhttps://history.nebraska.gov/blog/cholera-platte-1849/https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/cholera-on-the-kansas-frontier/16825https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/one/odrsettl.htmhttps://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbtn.wr0693100/?st=galleryhttps://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/ttp/id/52318https://oregonpioneers.com/ortrail.htmhttps://www.historynet.com/cholera-and-the-oregon-trail/https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/oregon-trail-disease.htmhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/20613800https://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/resources/essay_trail_health.htmlhttps://www.legendsofamerica.com/cholera/https://www.octa-trails.org/cholera_on_the_trail
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The Long Road to Oregon: The great migration of 1843- The first super train
May 700:14:05Tap to summarizeFor Episode 1 of The Long Road to Oregon, we’re going back to 1843 to follow the first great wagon train west. This is the story of the families who gathered on the edge of Missouri, joined their wagons, and carved the earliest deep ruts toward Oregon. The beginning of the trail as we know it.Episode 1: The Great Migration of 1843 is out now everywhere you stream podcasts!#thelongroadtooregon #oregontrail #pnwpodcast #historypodcast #pnwhistory #oregonhistory #greatmigration1843Sources: https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_trail_overview/https://www.nps.gov/oreg/learn/historyculture/the-great-migration-of-1843.htmhttps://www.loc.gov/item/2007664658/https://www.historynet.com/oregon-trail-history/https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/oregon.htmhttps://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Oregon_Trail:_The_Great_Migration_of_1843https://oregonpioneers.com/1843.htmhttps://www.britannica.com/event/Oregon-Trailhttps://www.legendsofamerica.com/or-oregontrail/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20613800https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/owh/id/47577https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/oregon-trail-migration.htmhttps://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s65x2t5mhttps://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/journal-of-travel-1843/https://www.octa-trails.org/oregon-trail-history1843 - Year of the Great Migration | Savages & Scoundrels
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The Long Road to Oregon: Introduction
May 700:06:41Tap to summarizeWe’re starting something new.As we reach two years of Mysterious Pacific Northwest, we’re taking a moment to look back—at where this show began, the stories we’ve told, and how much it’s grown.And from there, we’re stepping into something that’s been a long time coming.The Long Road to Oregon is a series rooted in a story that feels familiar to so many of us—but the deeper we went, the more we realized how much of it we didn’t fully understand.This first episode is the beginning of that journey.A reflection, a starting point, and the road ahead.Now streaming on all major podcast apps.#thelongroadtooregon #historypodcast #pnwhistory #oregontrail #pnwpodcast #podcastcommunity
Transcribe →The Infamous Files: The Sodder Children
Apr 2900:58:43Tap to summarizeOn Christmas Eve 1945, a fire tore through the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia. By morning, five children were missing. No remains were ever found. The explanations didn’t match the evidence. And the questions left behind have lingered for nearly eighty years.This week, we’re diving into one of America’s most unsettling unsolved cases — the disappearance of the Sodder children, the investigation that failed them, and the clues that still don’t add up.Now streaming wherever you listen to Podcasts#TheInfamousFiles #TrueCrimePodcast #UnsolvedMysteries #SodderChildren #PodcastEpisode #HistoryMystery #TrueCrimeCommunity #NewEpisodeSources:https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-children-who-went-up-in-smoke-172429802/https://vault.fbi.gov/sodder-childrenhttps://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/130https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2014/12/the-sodder-children-mystery.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2021/12/24/1064215090/sodder-children-fire-christmas-evehttp://www.charleyproject.org/case/sodder-childrenhttps://www.tapatalk.com/groups/porchlightusa/sodder-children-disappearance-wv-1945-t14963.htmlhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/268180178_Fire_Death_Investigationhttps://www.historicmysteries.com/sodder-children/https://truecrimereader.com/the-sodder-children-mystery/https://www.newspapers.com/search/?query=sodder%20childrenhttps://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?proxtext=Sodder+fire&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1&language=&ortext=&andtext=&phrasetext=&proxdistance=5&state=&date1=1945&date2=1955https://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx https://www.wvculture.org/history/archivesindex.aspx
Transcribe →Gold, Guns, and Gallows: Lawless Montana
Apr 2900:17:19Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we ride deep into the gold-laden gulches of early Montana—where law was scarce, tempers were quick, and justice was often measured in rope. From the boomtown chaos of Bannack and Virginia City to the haunting hangings beneath Helena’s “Old Hangman’s Tree,” this story follows the rise of the Montana Vigilantes: citizens who took justice into their own hands amid robbery, murder, and fear. We’ll trace the six furious weeks in 1863–64 that saw Sheriff Henry Plummer accused and executed, the vigilantes’ spread into cattle country under Granville Stuart’s “Stranglers,” and the mysterious legacy of the code 3-7-77. Part history, part moral reckoning, this is a tale about how far communities will go to protect themselves—and how easily justice can tangle with vengeance when the law rides in too late.Episode Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_Vigilantes#:~:text=In%201884%2C%20ranchers%20in%20Central,Stuart%20in%20the%20Musselshell%20region.https://www.legendsofamerica.com/montana-vigilantes/https://www.distinctlymontana.com/3-7-77-warning-or-whimsy
Transcribe →The Haunted Battlefield of Attu
Apr 2300:14:44Tap to summarizeThis week we head to Attu Island, one of the most remote and forgotten battlefields of World War II. A place of brutal fighting, heavy loss, and the ghost stories that followed.Was it truly haunted… or does history itself linger in places like this?Listen now to: The Haunted Battlefield of Attu wherever you get your podcasts.#MysteriousPacificNorthwest #Podcast #TrueHistory #WWIIHistory #AlaskaHistory #HauntedHistory #GhostStories #PacificNorthwest #HistoryPodcastSources:https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/battle-of-attu.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/aleu/planyourvisit/upload/Attu-Forgotten-Battle-Optimized-508.pdfhttps://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/wartime-internment-native-alaskanshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Attuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Attuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attu_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_Aleutian_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutian_World_War_II_National_Historic_Areahttps://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/Attu-Island-Lost-Villagehttps://apnews.com/article/adaef3a637eb88e41a676292a1d3cc90
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