for free. In 1850, the fort acquired regular once-a-month mail service with the arrival of a stagecoach route between Independence, Missouri and Salt Lake City. It was the first regular mail service established along the trail. Trail Junction Fort Kearny's location was chosen based on its proximity to the junction of several existing smaller trails, which joined together into a single broader route that became known as the Great Platte River Road. At this location, immigrant trains from the Missouri River trail head converged and thousands of overland travelers passed by the fort each year. The Armies two functions included protection and aid to the thousands of emigrants moving westward and to protect the Indian tribes from the migrants and from other tribes. Over time, road ranches grew up nearby. Dobytown became the first settlement providing supplies and entertainment to the emigrants and the soldiers. Eastern Trailsheads Westport near Kansas City, used by most emigrants. Fort Leavenworth St. Joseph, Missouri Nebraska City became a major freight center during The Mormon War and after the discovery of gold in the Colorado and Montana Territories (1858-1865). Freighters found the Ox-Bow Trail, with more abundant grass and water although longer and prone to having muddy lowlands. This was replaced in 1858 by the "Steam Wagon Road" which was a more direct route and improved after 1862. Omaha, along with Florence, Nebraska, which served the Mormon Pioneers from Winter Quarters. Role in the Indian Wars The early years of the fort were relatively peaceful. After 1854, and the creation of the Nebraska Territory by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, the area around the fort in northern Kansas and southern Nebraska increasingly came under the hostile activity of the Cheyenne and Sioux tribes. In the summer of 1864, the irritation of the Native Americans at the encroachment by white settlers culminated in violent attacks on wagon trains along the Platte and the Little Blue River. During this time, soldiers from the fort began escorting wagon trains, and the fort became a center for refugees fleeing from attacks. Earthwork fortifications were constructed at the fort, and the Army ordered the deployment of the First Nebraska Cavalry and the Seventh Iowa Cavalry to the fort. By 1865, the conflict between Native Americans and white settlers had shifted westward away from the area of the fort. Later years and abandonment The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska starting