During the nineteenth century, the United States underwent dramatic westward expansion, and the 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in California stimulated mass migration as hundreds of thousands of Americans were struck with the fever. Most gold seekers traveled overland from the Missouri River feeder towns of Independence, St. Joseph, and Council Bluffs, following the established Oregon Trail through Nebraska, also known as the California or Forty-Niner Trail. The Forty-Niner Trail entered Thayer County near present-day Alexandria and followed the Big Sandy Valley, where water, wood, and grass were available. After crossing the Big Sandy near Belvidere, the trail proceeded southwesterly to the Little Blue River, then again to the northwest. After the establishment of Thompson’s Station a few miles south of Belvidere, the trail followed the Eighteen Mile Ridge across Thayer County. The route was later used by the Pony Express, freighters, overland stage companies, and the railroads. The call to adventure, possible riches, or a new home encouraged these hardy pioneers to make the journey along the Forty-Niner Trail.