The area was shaped by successive routes and lines of travel and communication: the Old Oregon Trail lay 1750 feet south from 1850 to 1869, the Old Pony Express Route ran 6 miles south from 1860 to 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph line passed 6 miles south from 1861 to 1870, the Old Deadwood Trail lay 4 miles west from 1874 to 1886, the Old Mormon Road lay 1 mile north from 1847 to 1869, and the Burlington Railroad, a pioneer on the North Platte Valley, was constructing its line in 1899.