The Oregon Trail served as the main street of the West from the 1830's until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, carrying farmers, townsmen, and restless Americans from many walks of life who sought a better life in a new land. Fur trappers and traders following Indian trails opened the way, and in 1812 the Stuart party of John Jacob Astor's fur company pioneered the route from Astoria, Oregon, to St. Louis, Missouri. These mountain men guided explorers, missionaries, and the first emigrants, and by 1848 thousands of men, women, and children had followed the trail to the lush, fertile Willamette River Valley. The journey covered 2,000 miles of plains, mountains, and deserts, and the travelers' visions of personal freedom and opportunity were vital to national expansion.