In 1846 Levi Scott, together with Jesse and Lindsay Applegate, led an expedition that established the southern route to Oregon from Ft. Hall, Idaho, and he was elected to guide the first emigrants over the new route. Scott's important part in developing this emigrant trail led some historians to argue that it should be called the Scott Trail, while others suggested the Scott-Applegate Trail, though Jesse Applegate, Scott's friend and captain of the exploring party, simply called it the Southern Route, and its name remained disputed. Levi Scott, who lived from 1797 to 1890, emigrated to Polk County in 1844, later served in the Cayuse Indian War after efforts to establish a southern route to Oregon, and in 1848 settled with his family in nearby Scotts Valley. In 1850, seeing the prospects of supplying the interior by pack trail, he platted Scottsburg at the head of navigation on the Umpqua estuary. In May 1847, Levi Scott led a company of twenty men over the Applegate route toward the states and guided part of the immigrants of the following autumn into the Willamette Valley in good season and good condition. That expedition established the reputation of the southern route, and the legislature that year passed an act for its improvement, appointed Levi Scott commissioner, and allowed him to collect a small toll as compensation for his services.