The river once flowed at the foot of the bluffs near Doniphan, creating steamboat trade for the settlement and making it one of the largest towns on the upper Missouri in the 1850s. The riverbank originally was the southern edge of town, but with each flood, especially during the spring of 1892, lots, blocks, and streets were swept away. Now the river lies more than a mile east of Doniphan. (Photos show the river after the 2019 flooding in this area.)