During the 1820s, Jedediah Smith led an expedition to the American River with the goal of finding a safe route across the Sierra Nevada. After a failed attempt to cross the mountains via the South Fork of the American River, Smith's group managed to cross via Ebbetts Pass on the headwaters of the Stanislaus River, becoming the first non-Native Americans to do so. In Smith's honor the Spanish settlers and Native Americans named the river (American River). During this time, Alta California was part of New Spain; however in 1822, Mexico gained its independence from Spain and took control of California.