At the foot of this road was a landing purchased by the Shakers in 1830 that made Pleasant Hill a busy river port and ferry crossing, where quality Shaker products departed for downriver markets as far away as New Orleans. During the Civil War, Federal forces confiscated the ferry, but it was soon retrieved and returned to use, and by 1873 it could carry two wagons and horse teams on each crossing. Begun in 1826, this two-mile section of road was the Shakers' lifeline to trade on the Kentucky River. Although the Shakers improved it in the 1840s, the present road, cut from a stone cliff by star drills and sledgehammers, was not completed until 1861. Evidence of the drill holes remains visible, and after frequent use by heavy Civil War equipment caused severe damage, the Shakers repaired the road.