The lush willow bottoms of Rock Creek provided Native Americans with a natural campsite. During the early and mid-1800s, Rock Creek was an oasis for trappers, explorers, and Oregon-bound emigrants attempting to traverse the arid Snake River Plain. Astorian Robert Stuart camped in this vicinity August 28-29, 1812, during his epic eastward trek from Astoria to St. Louis, in which he pioneered what would become the Oregon Trail. Captain John C. Fremont camped near this spot on September 30, 1843, while leading a military expedition guided by Kit Carson to survey and map the Oregon Trail. The following day, Fremont followed Rock Creek and headed towards Niagara Springs where, after crossing the Snake River in an inflatable India-rubber boat, he examined the outlet of a "Subterranean River." Fremont's published report detailing his 1843-44 expedition from St. Louis to Fort Vancouver was of great value to Oregon-bound emigrants and remains today one of the most vivid accounts of the West.