In the spring of 1883, a group of men led by Richard Hemsley and James Steel left Salt Lake City by train in search of a new place to live. They rode to the end of the railroad line at Market Lake, now Roberts, Idaho, obtained horses, and traveled east across the desert to the Snake River. Following the river north, they found a land of sand and sagebrush with fertile soil and ample water and decided to settle there. They returned to Salt Lake City, prepared to move, and came back in wagons with their families, household goods, and cattle, reaching their destination just before dark on October 3, 1883. In April 1884, Robert Fisher arrived, built a log house, and sent for his wife, beginning a steady stream of settlers. Later, when a townsite was formed and a post office established, the place was named Plano after a school teacher suggested the Spanish word meaning "a level place."