This small farming community gained some fame a few years after the settlers arrived. The eldest sons of Henry Coplan/Copeland had arrived in 1872, followed by the rest of the family in 1873. In May 1876, the Coplan brothers were poking around in a boggy piece of land near the creek when they discovered mammoth fossils, along with a collection of other animal fossils, and evidence of prehistoric human activity. The news attracted visitors and scientist to the area, and inspired another set of brothers, William and Thomas Donahoe, to poke around their property on Pine Creek. The Donahoe brothers found a gargantuan mammoth skull, and other fossils. After extracting a sizable collection, the Coplan brothers, Ben, Alonzo, and Lewis, took their prizes on tour through Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The Donahoe brothers sent theirs on tour to California. After passing through various other hands, the Donahoe collection was acquired by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where it still resides. The Coplan collection eventually came into the possession of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago where it remains.