On December 9, 1837, more than 350 Cherokee camped in the fields along Roubidoux Creek under the leadership of conductor B.B. Cannon as one of the first Cherokee detachments to pass through the area after agreeing to exchange their homelands for money and land in Indian Territory. Between the fall of 1838 and the spring of 1839, additional Cherokee detachments also encamped there after the government forcibly removed them from their lands. These small groups had little money, often only about sixteen cents a day per person from the government, and struggled to meet basic needs as hungry people waited each night for rations contracted from local farms. After a full day of travel, they set up camp, cooked their meals, and prepared to leave the next day, staying only overnight as they pressed on toward Indian Territory.