This region played an important role in the history of the West. Here, Interstate 80 follows the route of the Overland Trail along the South Platte River, and after leaving the South Platte near here, the trail continued up the North Platte Valley along what is now U.S Highway 26. Beginning in 1841, an estimated quarter of a million travelers crossed the plains over this great natural highway. Oregon and California were early destinations, and the Platte Valley later became an important freighting and military route. The Pony Express used the Platte River Road, and when the first trans-continental railroad was completed in 1869, it also followed the valley. Nearby Ogallala was a wild and woolly cowtown from 1875 to 1885, serving as the northern terminus of the Texas Trail. On the Union Pacific Railroad, the town became a shipping point for great herds of Texas Longhorns and the chief gateway to the newly opened ranges of the Northern Plains. Boot Hill, which still survives, was the final resting place for many who helped make Ogallala the Cowboy Capital of Nebraska.