In 1859 two entrepreneurs, Titus and Manley, established a ferry near this site that later became well known as Durham Ferry. From the small stock of a hostelry that also served as their living quarters, they sold groceries and liquor and offered second-hand mining tools to argonauts traveling to the gold fields. They acquired those tools in trade from miners gone bust who were traveling in the opposite direction. For a short time, the crossing gave Stockton serious competition as a route to the Sierra Mines. The ferry remained in operation until it was replaced by a bridge in 1902.