The Whoop Up Trail came into being in the late 1860's, running northwest from Fort Benton to Fort Whoop Up, which was built before the border between Canada and the United States was surveyed, and later extending to Fort Macleod when that outpost was built in 1874. Trade goods shipped up the Missouri River to Fort Benton were freighted by bull teams to Canadian points, with furs making up the return load. Long trains of ox-drawn wagons covered the 240 miles between Fort Benton and Fort Macleod in 12 to 20 days, and later mule team freighters and horse stages also traveled the route. The traffic helped open up the Whoop Up country. The trail crossed the Marias River at Fort Conrad, and its course varied by conditions, following the coulees in dry weather and climbing to high ground in wet weather. With the coming of the railways, river shipping on the Missouri came to a standstill, and the last bull team passed over the overland route in 1892, ending a picturesque period in Montana-Alberta history. The trail appears on the 1893 survey map as the Fort Benton-Macleod Wagon Road and angled across part of the Pingel Homestead here.