In October 1857, an expedition led by Edward Fitzgerald Beale was tasked with establishing a trade route along the 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Los Angeles, California. The wagon trail began at Fort Smith and continued through the New Mexico Territory to Fort Defiance. He then continued west over what is now northern Arizona to near modern Kingman and Sitgreaves Pass before crossing the Colorado River. The location where Beale crossed the river from Arizona to California, up river from present-day Needles, California, became known as Beale's Crossing. Beale's route continued west through Southern California from where Beale's road crossed the Colorado River, through the Mojave Desert along the routes of the Mojave Trail, and Old Spanish Trail to the Mojave River where it cro