Little Sandy Crossing, where the old Oregon and Mormon Trails crossed the Little Sandy River or Creek, was a popular camping and resting place for travelers headed to Oregon, California, and Utah and was one of the most significant landmarks along the trail. Depending on the year's moisture, the Little Sandy provided the first water for emigrants and their livestock after leaving Pacific Creek, more than 20 miles east. For many emigrant parties, the campsite was a place of reorganization after the Parting of the Ways 8 miles northeast, where some groups divided toward Oregon while others continued to Utah or California. George Donner was elected captain here of the group known as the Donner Party, which later met a tragic end in California. In 1824/25, William Ashley and his party of mountain men rested on the banks of the Little Sandy. In 1847, while recovering from mountain fever, Brigham Young, leader of the Mormon exodus from the States, met Jim Bridger in this area and received information about the route to Utah. In 1860, a Pony Express station was established nearby.