In 1848, fur trader William Aitkin built a trading post and ran a ferry from this site, calling his settlement Aitkinsville. The Winnebago Indians traded here, crossing by ferry on their way to the Indian Agency at Long Prairie. Other businesses grew around the trading post, including a sawmill, a flour mill, a post office, the Brown Hotel and Grog Shop, an Indian cemetery, a school, and other stores. The town was renamed Swan River in 1856. With the growth of Little Falls, Swan River lost its businesses and was vacated in 1880.