Fort McPherson stood on the south side of the Platte River a few miles west of here from 1863 to 1880. During the Indian troubles of the middle 1860's, troops stationed there kept telegraph lines operating and mail and stage lines running, and when the Union Pacific Railroad reached the area in late 1866, the military played an important role in guarding construction crews. Early in 1867, North Platte was established fifteen miles west of the fort on the watershed above the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers and became a division point for the railroad, with two brick roundhouses among its first buildings. Many frontier and military figures were important in the history of both places. After the fort was abandoned and totally razed, Fort McPherson National Cemetery remained on part of the old military reservation as the resting place of hundreds of soldiers from western military posts as well as servicemen from later wars, while North Platte grew into one of Nebraska's major trading centers and retained a lively interest in the region's history.