According to Lexington Historian, the late Roger Slusher, most Santa Fe traffic went  South of Lexington, which is called the "highland route."   Head back to 20th and South Street to make the journey.

Turn left from 20th Street onto Business Highway 13 and go south of town to the junction of O.  Continue straight until you reach County Farm Road.  Turn right and follow this road until it meets 24 Highway.  Turn right to head back to Lexington.

As you travel down 20th Street, you'll pass the historic Machpelah Cemetery.  The first burial there was in 1839. In 1849, William Bradford Waddell donated his family’s cemetery, along with other nearby land, to form Machpelah.  Waddell is better known as the co-founder of the Pony Express and shipped goods across the United States.  Click here for more information about the cemetery.

You can continue south on O to the turnoff at Lexington Road.  Then turn right onto Howe Road and travel to 24 Highway, which is believed to be the original trail into Fort Osage.