John Gordon built a roadside stand near the Duck River with hopes of offering travelers food, shelter and transportation across the nearby river. Since it was too deep to ford and a bridge was not feasible, river crossing would be by ferry. This too had its problems. Since treaties gave Chickasaw control of rivers, any ferry operation required Chickasaw approval. In 1802 John Gordon successfully negotiated with Chickasaw Chief George Colbert and opened his roadside stand complete with ferry. The Duck River Ferry operated for over 90 years but at a cost. Gordon shared all ferry proceeds with the Chickasaw Nation.

As it turns out, Chief George Colbert was quite the opportunist and proved it again at his Tennessee River ferry. According to legend, Colbert charged Andrew Jackson $75,000 to transport 2,000 troops across the Tennessee while returning from a battle in New Orleans. Today that equates to about $1,129,809.23.