Before the establishment of Minco as a town, three major expeditions passed through the area. The first expedition was conducted by Captain Randolph B. Marcy(1812-1887) in 1849. Marcy was ordered to escort 1,500 individuals headed to the California gold fields. When the expedition approached the Minco area they kept to the south side of Buggy Creek, which Marcy named "Deer Creek". Marcy named his route the Fort Smith to Santa Fe Trail. There was a road established in 1839-1840 on the north side of the Canadian River that was also named the Fort Smith to Santa Fe Trail. This road had been laid out by Josiah Gregg, a Santa Fe merchant who had connections with merchants in Fort Smith, Arkansas.