Beginning in 1853, when Fort Riley was established, the Fort Riley Trail's northern route passed this spot as it came from Fort Leavenworth. Mounted and foot soldiers used this route because river valley silt and sand would not permit heavy artillery and wagons. Heavy traffic crossed the Kansas River by ferry at Calhoun, a village at the Calhoun Bluffs. At Thomas Road in Silver Lake, a branch of the trail headed southwest to reach Union Town after crossing the Kansas River. Some Oregon Trail travelers may have attempted to use the northern route, but 3600 pound wagons would have had difficulty. Highway 24 and the Union Pacific railroad tracks follow the old Fort Riley Trail from Calhoun Bluffs to St. Marys. The trail's southern route passed through Topeka by the Ward Meade Farm and the Pottawatomie Indian Mission on the way to Union Town.