In 1864, the first communication route between Cache Valley and Bear Lake Valley followed the Shoshone Indian Trail. Mail was carried to Bear Lake on snowshoes, a distance of 25 miles over steep and rugged mountains from Franklin through Cub River Canyon. In 1866, the Deseret Telegraph line was extended from Utah to Franklin in Idaho, and in 1871 to Paris, Idaho. A half-way house near this site was where the carriers camped, and the spring supplied them with water.