From 1852 to 1870, an oarsmen-powered scow carried Oregon Trail wagons across the Snake River here. Later, when Overland Stage service from Boise to a rail terminal in Kelton, Utah, was moved to this crossing, M.E. Payne installed a large 14 by 60 foot cable ferry powered by the river current. After stage service shifted to a more direct route at Glenn's Ferry in 1879, the boat served mostly local traffic until 1910, when it broke away and sank 3 miles below here.