Smugglers' Notch is named for the smuggling that was prompted by a request of President Thomas Jefferson to prevent American involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. The United States Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807 which prohibited American trade with Great Britain and Canada. The British bypassed the embargo by importing products to Canada and they were smuggled down mountain trails through Smugglers' Notch by Vermonters. The Act caused great hardship for locals, many of whom continued the illegal trade with Canada, carrying goods and herding livestock through the notch. The geology of the notch made it well suited for smuggling as the area is remote and laced with numerous caves. The caves were used as hideaways by the smugglers. Much of the illegal activity slowed with the onset of the War of 1812. Smugglers' Notch was later used on the Underground Railroad when fugitive slaves used the notch as an escape route to Canada. The route was improved to accommodate automobile traffic in 1922 thus providing a route for liquor to be brought in from Canada during the Prohibition years.