Transportation in Waterloo developed from Indian trails first created by buffalo moving from one watering hole to another and used by people on foot and by horses traveling single file. These trails were later widened with axes for wagons, and roads eventually became established travel routes with bridges, forts, and inns along the way. The Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail can be traced to American Indian people around 11,000 BC, whose migrations created the route for economic trade and government and social and religious purposes, and over time large civilizations with mound cities grew along it. The trail remained in use into historic times and introduced the route to the first French explorers and colonists in the late 1600's. After permanent French settlements were established at Kaskaskia and Cahokia in 1699 and named for the local Illini people, other forts and settlements followed over the next 100 years, including Bellefontaine, site of one of the first American settlements in Illinois and the place where Waterloo began. The Kaskaskia Trail was surveyed and platted in 1811, helped spawn many routes for expanded growth, and contributed to Illinois becoming the 21st state in 1818, with Kaskaskia as the first state capital. It later became Illinois Route 3, and today a 60-mile auto tour follows the Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail. In early Monroe County, land travel relied on horses, buggies, and walking until the railroad reached Waterloo in December 1872. A depot was built in March 1873 on the east side of the tracks, and a celebration followed in June. A slightly larger dark brick depot on a concrete foundation replaced it in 1911 and opened for business in February 1912, with two waiting rooms and space for freight and luggage. On January 12, 1918, the day after the worst blizzard since 1899, fire swept through the depot, and extreme cold and high winds made firefighting difficult. Construction of a new depot was delayed by World War I, but the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Railroad Depot later opened to the public. Social groups often chartered trains from St. Louis to Waterloo for scenery or picnics at Bickelhaupt's Park across from the depot, and a round trip fare was 50 cents. As roads improved and large trucks expanded door-to-door delivery, railroad operations declined by the late 1950's. The last train stopped in Waterloo in 1985, the tracks were removed, and the depot remained for later business uses. Waterloo also gained electric streetcar service through an August 13, 1906 agreement serving Waterloo, Columbia, and East St. Louis. After six years of planning and construction, the interurban line was completed in March 1912. Construction had begun in East St. Louis on July 27, 1910, with 300 men, and continued through the winter of 1911 to 1912. On December 18, a train first entered Waterloo carrying freight for two local businessmen, and regular passenger service began two days later between East St. Louis and Waterloo. The track entered at Columbia Street, curved onto Main Street, and ended at a turning point by the Ziebold Fountain at Third and Main Streets. At first the streetcar made seven round trips daily. In 1913, three heavier interurban cars and two trailers were added as demand increased. Traffic rose during World War I and into the mid-1920's, but after the opening of Illinois Route 3 in 1925, the streetcar lost popularity, and passenger service ended on May 31, 1932.