william brown was headed west from mount pleasant, iowa in the california gold rush of 1849 when he decided to stay in council bluffs. in 1850 he outfitted a flat boat with oars and obtained a charter from the pottawatomie county commissioners to operate a ferry across the missouri river, at which point he also illegally staked out of the prime missouri valley flatland which became omaha. it was from this position that brown first conceived of founding omaha. the point which he launched from on the nebraska side was purportedly in the miller's landing area.