Collier's Ferry was the main crossing on Old Jasper Road and an alternate crossing on the Opelousas Trail from Liberty through Beaumont to Louisiana. Used as early as 1750, the route followed Indian traces and served as a highway for explorer-settlers, priests, soldiers, and traders from Spain, France, and Anglo-America. The ferry's most important use was as a cattle crossing on the famous Opelousas Trail from the 1820s to 1900, with herds coming this way to bypass the streets of Beaumont. Although others operated it during its 1831-1950 career, the ferry took its name from the John Collier family, who ran it for 50 years.