Fleeing religious intolerance and conflict, thousands of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left homes they had built in Nauvoo, Illinois, and poured into western Iowa and eastern Nebraska in 1846 on their way to a new gathering place in the west. Knowing that more Saints would follow, they built between 60 and 90 settlements with homes, businesses, meetinghouses, and farms. Most of the original Saints left the area by 1852, but the communities they built served as springboards for a continuous flow of emigration and provided the foundation for towns and cities that still exist today. One major settlement here was Kanesville, named after Thomas L. Kane, a non–Latter-day Saint who was a friend to the Church, and another was at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, on the west side of the Missouri River. By 1848, most Saints on the west side of the river had left, and Kanesville became the main center for Latter-day Saints in the region. In this area, the Latter-day Saints formed the Mormon Battalion to help fund their westward migration, sustained a new First Presidency, and welcomed back Oliver Cowdery, a former leader in the Church.