page_title: Territories of the United States on stamps
section_title: Western growth
hierarchical_section_title: Territories of the United States on stamps / Filling in settlement / Western growth
caption_attribution_description: English: A 3-cent stamp issued on January 24, 1948 commemorated the centennial of the discovery of gold in California. The stamp pictures Sutter's Mill where the discovery started “the rush of Argonauts”.
context_page_description: Territories of the United States on stamps discusses commemorative postal issues devoted to lands that have been ceded to the nation or purchased by treaty in conjunction with both war and peace. Thirteen states have been created from colonial territories, two from independent republics, four from previous states in the Union, and an additional thirty-one from United States territories.
  Many aspects of acquisition, settlement and exploration have been celebrated on postage stamps. These are represented below in issues that appeared prior to 1978.
context_section_description: West of the Mississippi River. 
  Antebellum United States saw further organization of territories.
  Kansas Territory was commemorated on its 100th anniversary with a 3-cent stamp on May 31, 1954. The foreground depicts a field of wheat with a set of farm buildings. A wagon train of pioneers in light silhouette looms above. The stamp was issued in sheets of fifty, with 110,000,000 stamps authorized.
  Nebraska Territory was commemorated on its 100th anniversary with a 3-cent stamp issued on May 7, 1954. The stamp is illustrated by "The Sower," a statue atop the Nebraska Capitol. Mitchell Pass is shown with Scotts Bluff dominating the right side.
  Iowa Territory was commemorated on August 24, 1938, with a 3-cent stamp. It came from earlier parts of the Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin territories. The Iowa Territory included later Iowa, parts of Minnesota, and the Dakotas. Iowa achieved statehood in 1846. The Old Capitol in Iowa City, the territorial capital is shown. 
  Fort Snelling, Minnesota was commemorated on its 150th anniversary with a 6-cent stamp on October 17, 1970. The fort was instrumental in opening the Northwest. 
  The emigration of Swedish pioneers to the American Midwest including the Wisconsin Territory was commemorated on the 100th anniversary by a 5-cent stamp on June 4, 1948. A Swedish pioneer is pictured with a covered wagon moving westward, framed by twelve stars, which represent the twelve midwestern states settled by Swedes, importantly Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  Nebraska Territory settlement was expedited by the construction of Fort Kearny, Nebraska. Its 100th birthday commemoration was issued on September 22, 1948. The vignette shows Fort Kearny, with a pioneer group sculpture pictured above from the state's Capitol.
  The 6-cent Cherokee Strip, Oklahoma Territory, commemorative stamp was issued on October 15, 1968, on the 75th anniversary of the dramatic land rush into the northern part of the state. More than 100,000 homesteaders participated on run from the Kansas border on September 16, 1893. Forty thousand homesteads of 160 acres awaited successful claimants.
  The centennial of Oklahoma Territory settlement by Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes was commemorated with a stamp issued on October 13, 1948, showing reproductions of the Five Great Seals of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma. Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma - Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole - celebrated the centennial of their forced move of the Trail of Tears, an ordeal lasting from 1838 to 1848. The Centennial and stamp were meant to honor "their remarkable progress and achievements."  From 1848 to 1948, the members of the five tribes in the Union of the Five Tribes made a 'March of Progress' in arts, letters, government and professional fields that contributed to the attainment of Statehood. Oklahoma was the home of almost one-half of the entire Indian population of the nation.
  Minnesota Territory was commemorated on its 100th annivsary with a 3-cent stamp on March 3, 1949. The vignette features a westward-bound pioneer and a Red River ox cart. The Red River ox cart was a two-wheeled cart used by fur traders and pioneers, made entirely of wood was often constructed with buffalo sinew due to nail shortages. The Red River Ox Cart Trail extended from fur trading posts at St. Joseph in the Red River Valley to St. Paul, Minnesota.
  The Oregon Territory stamp was issued August 14, 1948, on the Oregon Territory Centennial. The vignette shows a wagon on the Oregon Trail. Pictured is John McLoughlin, one of the most influential figures of the Pacific Northwest's fur trade and settlement periods, the 'Father of Oregon.'  Also shown is Jason Lee who is credited with prominent leadership in a provisional government in the Oregon Country.
  Following U.S. acquisition of the Utah Territory in the Mexican–American War, Mormons led by Brigham Young began settlement with his famous remark, "This is the place." The stamp shows settlers entering the valley of Great Salt Lake.
  Washington Territory is comm
caption: California gold rush
  1948 issue
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