During the Reconstruction Period, trade remained slow because the main source of land transportation was still the ox and wagon. From the mid-1800s, railroads were primarily used to access the area's vast timber reserves, but once built, they were quickly put to use by the burgeoning tourism and resort industry. On May 16, 1888, the East Louisiana Railroad reached Covington, heralding an economic boom. The flow of people and commerce that had first come by river exploded with the arrival of the railroad.