brown convinced 12 businessmen, including dr. enos lowe, jesse lowe, jesse williams, and joseph h. d. street, all of kanesville, iowa, that the omaha plateau was an ideal spot for a city. on july 23, 1853 they formed the council bluffs and nebraska ferry company. in addition to owning ferry boats the company also owned property on both sides of the missouri river. in september 1853 the company bought a steamboat from alton, illinois called the "general marion". in its early years the company was the instrumental force in getting settlers into the nebraska territory.