The town of Hansen is named for area pioneer and merchant John Hansen, a native of Denmark. After first settling near Albion in 1876, he moved to Rock Creek in 1900, where he owned and operated a store until 1916. He was a notable civic leader who served as superintendent of schools, probate judge, U.S. Land Office Commissioner, Deputy Clerk of Twin Falls County, and a member of the first Twin Falls County Commission in 1907. His marriage to Anna Peterson in 1877 may have been the first wedding ceremony in what is now Twin Falls County. First platted and surveyed in 1905, Hansen stands at the gateway to the Rock Creek Canyon-Magic Mountain scenic area.