Between 1844 and 1887, Indianola grew into a cosmopolitan port city second only to Galveston and became the eastern terminus of the Chihuahua Road, an overland trade route linking Indianola-Matagorda Bay with Chihuahua city in Mexico. Carrying commerce from the mines of Chihuahua, which produced primarily silver as well as copper, zinc, and lead, the road gained popularity as a more direct alternative to longer and more difficult trails such as the Santa Fe Trail. Its route ran from Indianola-Matagorda Bay through San Antonio, along the Balcones Fault to the Rio Grande through Alpine and Marfa, then south to Mexico and up the Conchos River to Chihuahua city. Its sections were known as the Indianola Road or Goliad Cart Road, the Old Spanish Trail, the Government or Military Road, and in Mexico, El Camino del Rio Conchos. By the 1850s, hundreds of wagons and Mexican carretas were outfitted in Indianola for the long journey across varied terrain, and from 1844 to 1886 trade between Indianola and Chihuahua helped establish scores of towns in West Texas along the route. The road continued until 1877, when a hurricane destroyed Indianola and railroads replaced trails, but for more than thirty years it played a dominant role in moving commerce, travelers, and military supplies and personnel through this part of North America.