The outpost of '''Epsumb''' or '''Jeundo''' was founded between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers at the northern edge of the area's forests in 1887, 1888, or February 1889 by the German explorers Lt. Richard Kund and Hans Tappenbeck by the agreement of the chiefs of Ela Esono. From December 1889 to May 1895, it was occupied by the German botanist Georg August Zenker as an agricultural research station named '''Jaunde''' after the local Yaunde or Ewondo people. His settlement served as a base for the area's rubber and ivory trade, purchasing these from the natives in exchange for imported clothing and iron. It was also known in English as '''Yaunde Station'''. Major Dominik's establishment of a military garrison at the site in 1895 permitted a Pallotine mission and religious school at nearby Mvolyé (now a suburb).