The first settlers did not take up claims in the valley until 1850, some seven years after the arrival of the first settlers in the nearby Yamhill Valley. Most of these early "Gopherites" claimed , while later settlers could only claim half that amount, due to changes in the Donation Land Claim Act after 1850. Among the earliest settlers were Stephen Hussey, Joseph Pearson, William Toney, Peter Carlisle, Edward Warren, Green P. R. Atterbury, Edward Warren, James Morgan and Owen Turner. Some of these pioneers were unmarried, which was another reason they could only claim .