In 1847, Brigham Young brought the Mormon Pioneer seventy-two-wagon company of 143 men, three women, and two children to a point near this site on June 12, where strong winds and high water on the North Platte River, then 150 yards wide and 10 to 15 feet deep, made crossing difficult and extremely dangerous. After various attempts to cross and frustration with slow progress, he commissioned construction of a larger ferry boat, which was completed in three days and equipped with two oars and a rudder for control. Realizing that later Mormon companies would need the ferry to cross the river, and also seeing the revenue potential in helping other pioneers, he arranged for a ferry to remain in operation. Wilford Woodruff recorded that President Young thought it wise to leave some of the brethren there and keep a ferry until the company came up, and that emigrants would pay $1.50 per wagon for ferrying. On June 19, one week after arrival, Brigham Young appointed nine men to stay and operate the ferry: Thomas Grover, Captain; William Empey, Assistant Captain and professional ferryman; Appleton Harmon, Carpenter-Mechanic; Luke Johnson, Doctor and Hunter; James Davenport, Blacksmith; James Higbee, Herdsman; Edmund Ellsworth, Hunter; Francis Pomeroy, Hunter; and Benjamin Stewart, coal miner. A tenth man, Eric Glines, chose on his own to remain with the ferrymen.