At this fork in the trail, the right branch led to Oregon and the left to Utah and California. In 1812, Robert Stuart and the eastbound Astorians used the South Pass gateway. In 1824, eleven westbound Ashley-Henry men led by Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick passed here. In 1832, the parties of N. Wyeth and Capt. B.L.E. Bonneville came through. In 1836, missionaries M. Whitman and H.H. Spalding and their wives traveled this route. In 1841, the Bartleson-Bidwell Party passed here. In 1852, the peak year, an estimated 40,000 emigrants used the trail.