In 1858, Frederick Lander developed an ancient path long used by Indians, explorers, and mountain men into an alternate route on the Oregon Trail. Commonly called the Lander Trail or Lander Cut-Off, it began at Burnt Ranch, crossed the Sweetwater River, continued along Lander Creek to the Continental Divide at Little Sandy Creek, then traveled west across the Green River Valley, the Wyoming Range, and the Salt River Range before entering present-day Idaho and rejoining the original Oregon Trail near Fort Hall. Travelers favored this wagon road because it could save as much as 7 days compared to the old route through Fort Bridger, avoided expensive ferries across the Green River to the south, bypassed the 50-mile waterless desert of the Sublette Cut-Off, had a longest waterless section of only 10 miles, and offered abundant grass and firewood. An estimated 13,000 emigrants used the Lander Cut-Off in its first year, and 9,000 of them signed statements of support for the road at Fort Hall. Although use declined after completion of the trans-continental railroad in 1869, the trail remained in use by emigrants into the 20th century and played a role in the settlement of the Upper Green River Valley.