Frederick Lander chose this place for the trail to cross the New Fork River because an island once split the river into two channels, allowing emigrants to ford without a bridge or ferry. He wrote that the stream on each side of the island was twenty to thirty yards wide and three to four feet deep in spring, and advised travelers to raise the beds of their wagons, with timber available on the island and west bank. In practice, Lander underestimated the spring runoff, and during high water many emigrants had difficulty making the crossing, with some teams drowned and at least two men from one train lost in July 1862. Water levels varied greatly by season and weather, and high water usually came in July when most emigrants reached the river. In 1862, a high-water year, some emigrants built a ferry across the Green River ten miles downstream below the confluence of the New Fork and Green rivers, but the price of four dollars per wagon and a wait of two days made it too expensive for most, who crossed here as best they could.