One of the earliest settlements in the Washington Territory. It was homesteaded by James L. (Blockhouse) Smith, so-called because the government built a blockhouse on his land in 1855 as a protection against Native American attacks. The foundation stones of the blockhouse, which burned down in recent years, still remain. Another rugged pioneer, John Armstrong, erected on Cedar Creek one of the first waterpower mills in the district; it was equipped with an upright saw and was said to have had a production capacity of 1,000 feet of lumber a day. The Sam Williams home, a rambling frame structure, was built of lumber from Armstrong’s mill.