It is believed that the first settler to cultivate the land at Langvatnet (Long Lake) was Anders Larsen from the Svartvassheia farm in Nord-Rana. He and his family had first settled for some years in at the Skaiti farm in Saltdal before moving north over the mountains to Sulitjelma in 1848. They initially settled below a cliff at Sandnes on Langvatnet and had some livestock there. In the course of a few years, as many as six newly cleared farms were set up along Langvatnet. The people made a living from livestock, forestry, hunting, and fishing. Firewood was floated down the Sjønstå River and transported further by rowboat to traders at Skjerstad Fjord, which provided income to the settlers. In 1875 about 50 people lived in Sulitjelma, and around that time mountain tourists started coming not only from Norway but also Sweden, England, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the United States.: