“In essence, the St. Charles Road was the eastern end of the Santa Fe Trail. After being outfitted and loaded in St. Louis, west-bound wagon trains took the St. Charles Road to the Missouri River at St. Charles, took a ferry across the river, and then continued on the road, which extended to the Boones Lick area and then to Independence, Missouri, the official starting point of the Santa Fe Trail.”
https://www.thewellstonloop.com/early-beginnings-the-st-charles-road-the-gateway-to-the-santa-fe-trail
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.