On July 14, 1775, a seven-member foraging party was sent inland by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, captain of the Sonora,  to replenish the ship's water supply, gather firewood, and find a replacement for the ship's topmast. The party, armed with muskets, cutlasses, pistols, cartridge boxes, and several hatchets, landed on the shore south of the Quinault River. They were met by a party of 300 Indians and killed after two hours of fighting.

By the 1850s, settlement of coastal areas and lowlands had begun and four Indian reservations were established at the mouths of coastal rivers - the Makah, Quillayute, Hoh, and Quinault. Area tribes routinely used the area for hunting, gathering, and travel. In fact Klallam elders recall a grandmother that took her children across the mountains to visit relatives near Quinault.

Inspired by stories of the untamed Olympic Mountains, the Seattle Press sponsored an expedition to explore the wild core of the Olympic Peninsula.  But to Euro-Americans, the interior was a mystery. The Press Expedition left Port Angeles in December 1889. After many mishaps and nearly starving, they merged at Lake Quinault six months later. Settlement along the shores of Lake Quinault was begun by Alfred Noyes during the winter of the same year. A few hotels and summer cabins appeared on the shores of Lake Crescent and Lake Quinault as early as the 1890s.

This was an era when exploitation went unchecked in the northwest. By the end of the 19th century, elk had nearly disappeared from this last frontier. President Theodore Roosevelt, after whom they are named, established Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909 to protect elk from overhunting. By the time the park was established in 1938, elk populations had rebounded. Roosevelt establishes Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909 to protect elk from overhunting.

Credits and Sources:

National Park Service. "Administrative History 1992." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/olym/olym_adhi.pdf (accessed June 12th, 2015).

National Park Service. "Olympic: Late Quinault Area." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/quinault.pdf (accessed June 17th, 2015).

National Park Service. "Olympic: Staircase Area." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/Staircase.pdf (accessed June 21st, 2015).

National Park Service. "People." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/historyculture/people.htm (accessed June 17th, 2015).