 Here, wagon wheels, draft animals, and people wore down the trail into a sandstone ridge about two to six feet, during its heavy usage from 1841–1869.The half-mile stretch is "unsurpassed" and is the best-preserved set of Oregon Trail ruts anywhere along its former length.The site is maintained as a state historic site, and was declared a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.