In 1850, William D. Brown ran a ferryboat from Kanesville (now Council Bluffs) to the Indian territory now known as Omaha. He named the crossing after the isolated trees on the Nebraska side of the river. Many people crossed the Missouri river on his flat boat fitted with oars, headed west for the gold rush of California. Soon afterward, with the prospect of Nebraska becoming a territory open for settlement, he and several other local businessmen founded The Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company. Steamships were purchased and built to meet the increasing demand for carrying both passengers and cargo across the river. Once the first train bridge was completed in 1872 the ferry service became obsolete.
This map from 1866 shows the route the ferry travelled on. The cache is at the approximate location of the landing on the Nebraska side.
