Lake Stevens was named in 1859 for territorial governor Isaac Stevens and was originally listed as "Stevens Lake" on early maps. The area around the lake was used for berry gathering by the indigenous Skykomish, who also used most of the Pilchuck River basin for hunting. The first homesteads around the lake were established by emigrants in the 1880s, beginning with Joseph William Davison's claim along the east shore filed in 1886. A two-block townsite at the northeast end of the lake named "Outing" was claimed on October 8, 1889, by Charles A. Missimer and platted the following year. The construction of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway along the eastern side of the Pilchuck River Valley in 1889 spurred the creation of more settlements in the area. Among them were Machias in 1890, which was followed by Hartford (originally named "Ferry"), later a major junction for the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway completed in 1892.