In the early 1800s the first visitors to the area arrived, seeking natives to exchange goods for furs. The trading was good and a Hudson's Bay Company post was established on Sturgeon Lake in 1877. Peace River Jim’ Cornwall established the Bredin and Cornwall Trading Post nearby. The area was surveyed in 1900 for a possible settlement, but little developed of it. The following year the area was surveyed again by Fred Young who was particularly impressed with a piece of land on the northwest shore of Sturgeon Lake. By 1916 the first pioneers settled in the area nearby as its soil was rich for farming.