Only a handful of visible reminders remain, yet each one hints at a town that once welcomed travelers and families along the Missouri River. Since the 1840s, repeated flooding along the Missouri River progressively destroyed the portion of the settlement that sat below the river bluff. Originally constructed in 1868 during a revival of river commerce, the building served the community’s children for decades before the rising Missouri River made its original location untenable. St. Deroin Once Operated A Busy Missouri River FerryFor over three decades, St. Deroin was a crossing point that connected the Nebraska Territory with Iowa across the wide Missouri. Visiting St. Deroin today means walking through a place that has been reclaimed almost entirely by nature.