Built in 1853, this first wagon trail in Redwood County crossed the Redwood River at this fording site, where the undammed river was a small stream in pioneer years. The road connected Fort Ridgely with the Lower and Upper Sioux Agencies and in time became two deep ruts worn into the prairie sod, some of which remain visible today. From the Upper Agency near Granite Falls, it continued to army posts along the Missouri River in South Dakota.