From 1860 to 1867, thousands of oxen-drawn wagons carrying military and mining supplies and emigrants moving west passed here before completion of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska. They cut deep ruts across the tallgrass prairie and at Spring Creek fording sites. This cutoff was the shortest route from the Missouri River to Fort Kearny, where several overland trails merged, and it became one of Nebraska’s most important historic roads. The still-visible ruts are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.