The oldest human artifacts found in Whitchurch Township date to 1500 BC and were found in the hamlet of Ringwood (now part of urban Stouffville). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, two Native trails crossed through what is today Whitchurch–Stouffville. The "Vandorf Trail" ran from the source waters of the Rouge River to Newmarket, across the heights of the hamlet of Vandorf. The "Rouge Trail" ran along the Rouge River and northwest from Musselman Lake; both were part of the aboriginal and Coureur des bois trail system leading through dense forests from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe. The territory was the site of several Native villages, including Iroquoian peoples' settlements around Preston Lake, Vandorf, and Musselman Lake.