The Mullan Road left the Sun River Valley here at a place called The Leaving, and after 1864 the route was better known as the Benton Road, connecting Fort Benton to Helena. Traffic peaked in late spring and early summer, when high water let steamboats off-load freight at Fort Benton and passengers and goods bound for the States flowed into town. C.C. Huntley established a stage route between Helena and Fort Benton in 1866, and one of its most important stations stood at The Leaving. In 1879, a stagecoach trip between Helena and Fort Benton took about two days. Montana pioneer Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassman wrote that stage drivers did not drive slowly for their passengers but simply aimed to reach their destination on time. Stage station proprietors contracted with the stage companies to provide services to the line and its passengers, and The Leaving was an important stop where drivers changed horses for the long pull to the next station. The station became known for hospitality and good food. From 1877 to 1888, Ed and Ida Reinecke ran it, and during their time it stood at the center of a small settlement that included a general store run by T.C. Power. The arrival of the Montana Central Railroad in 1887 ended the Benton Road's dominance, and the Reinecke stage station closed.