An early western highway followed a fur trade route from the Missouri River and Fort Tecumseh at Pierre to Fort William in 1832, then later to John and Laramie by way of Badlands Pass south of Scenic and the White and Niobrara Rivers. It also served Harney’s Expedition in 1855 to overawe the Sioux, and from 1876 to 1888 it was a stage and wagon route from Fort Pierre to Deadwood.