Looking toward the immediate completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad, Corinne Townsite was laid out in the spring of 1869. Railroad financiers, real estate promoters, businessmen and gambling sharks launched a boom to make Corinne the shipping, trading and amusement center of the Rocky Mountains. Although Congress had planned the junction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads at or near Ogden, the Union Pacific designated Corinne as the freight junction for the rich mines of Montana and the communities of Idaho and northern Utah. This decision followed engineers' declaration that the town lay in the center of the Rocky Mountain area and that the Bear River was navigable by steamboat, making it possible for freight to be transported from Corinne via Bear River, the Great Salt Lake, and the Jordan River to Salt Lake City. For a time the town flourished to the fullest expectation of its promoters, supporting a newspaper, many businesses, and more than 100 saloons and gambling houses. In its prime, Corinne was one of Utah’s busiest cities, and many times over 500 freight wagons were congregated here.