 The first European in the area was 1813 and was explored and mapped in 1827 by Archibald McDonald.Access to the area prior to the Great Depression was extremely limited due to a lack of any kind of developed roads or trails over the Cascade Mountains (other than the Dewdney Trail, far to the North).In 1929, the construction of a Road through the area was begun as a work project for the unemployed, but did not get completed.