For the earliest Sioux City settlers, the only way to cross the Missouri River to Nebraska was to take a boat or swim.

The first street railway company to operate in Sioux City was the The Sioux City Street Railway Company. The company was started by a group headed by Fred Evans, but it was bought out by James and Frank Peavey in 1888.

It wasn't until the 1880s that Sioux City streets began to be surfaced. But the usual "pavement" wasn't concrete. The streets were "paved" with round cedar blocks.

When Sioux City first began to grow, most people arrived by either steamboat or stagecoach. In the eastern United States, railroads were being built to connect all major cities. The first railroad to develop in Iowa was in 1865, along the Mississippi. However, plans were soon developed to expand the system to all major Iowa cities.