An expedition led by Spanish explorer Juan Pardo is believed to have passed through Happy Valley in October 1567. Pardo was attempting to reach the village of Coosa in northern Georgia via the Tennessee Valley. He left Chiaha (on Zimmerman's Island, now submerged by Douglas Lake) on October 13, marching southwest across the Foothills of the Great Smokies. He crossed Little River at what is now Walland, and camped at what is now Lake in the Sky. From there, he proceeded across Happy Valley en route to the village of Chalahume at the mouth of Abrams Creek.