Each spring, thousands of emigrants camped in these hills and meadows, waiting for new grass to support their teams along the trail. Wagons lined Saint Joseph streets to the east, waiting for two to three days to be ferried from this point. The settlers faced up to five months of hardships, sickness, and danger on a trip beyond the protection of the U.S. Government. In the 1840s and 50s, hundreds of thousands of emigrants followed the Saint Joe Road west seeking homesteads or gold on the California and Oregon trails. As western expansion continued, Saint Joseph became a major wholesale and business center.