In the 1830s and 1840s, Independence thrived as a multicultural international center of commerce where French Canadians, Europeans, Spanish, Mexicans, Blacks, and American Indians mingled and traded goods on Independence Square. In May 1846, Francis Parkman Jr. found the town crowded with shops supplying emigrants and Santa Fe traders, blacksmiths repairing heavy wagons and shoeing horses and oxen, and streets thronged with men, horses, and mules. Local freighters moved European and American-made goods such as cotton, glass, and iron through the city from eastern and southern coasts over the Santa Fe Trail to Mexico, and returned with gold, silver, furs, wool, mules, and horses. Independence became known for wagon factories, blacksmith shops, and yoke and harness making facilities. Emigrants bound for Oregon or California arrived by steamboat at Wayne City and nearby landings, by stagecoach, or in their own wagons, then prepared in early spring for departure after filling hotels and boarding or camping on nearby farms while their livestock fed on spring grasses. The heyday of this international commerce lasted until 1850, when trail use began to decline, and by 1869 the transcontinental railroad had forged the new way westward.