When William Becknell's pioneer trading expedition crossed the Missouri River at the Arrow Rock Ferry on September 1, 1821, the site emerged as the gateway for western travel and commerce on what is known as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. On May 23, 1829, residents in the area met at the Arrow Rock Ferry to organize a town that could outfit and supply the thousands of wagons crossing there. First called New Philadelphia, then Arrow Rock, the county court ordered a road built to the new village, which became an early epicenter of commerce and exists today as a witness to America's great westward movement.