Ash Hollow was a famous place on the Oregon Trail, where a branch of the trail ran northwestward from the Lower California Crossing of the South Platte River a few miles west of Brule and descended into the North Platte Valley. Named for a growth of ash trees, the hollow was entered by Windlass Hill to the south, and wagons had to be eased down its steep slope by ropes. With its water, wood, and grass, Ash Hollow was a welcome relief after the arduous trip from the South Platte, and travelers usually stopped there for a period of rest and refitting. An abandoned trappers cabin served as an unofficial post office where letters were left to be carried to the "States" by eastbound travelers. The graves of Rachel Pattison and other emigrants are in the nearby cemetery. In 1855, a significant fight commonly called the Battle of Ash Hollow occurred at Blue Water Creek northwest of there, when General Harney’s forces, sent out to chastise the Indians after the Grattan Massacre of 1854, attacked Little Thunder’s band of Brule Sioux while the Indians were attempting to parley, killed a large number, and captured the rest of the band.