Historic Fish Lake was once a busy place of work and travel across the Cascades. Nearby, the Fish Lake Remount Depot has been in continuous use as a U.S. Forest Service station since 1910. Originally developed as a way station, the depot became the most popular stop on the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road, commonly called the Old Santiam Wagon Road. This road was a pioneering route across the Cascades and became a vital link between western and eastern Oregon. Over the years, countless footsteps, thousands of hooves, wagon wheels, and the wheels of early automobiles shaped the road. In 1905, two cars traveling toward Portland to complete the first trans-continental automobile race went the length of the road. The road company built a hotel, saloon, store, barn, blacksmith shop, and corrals to serve travelers. The depot remains actively used by the Forest Service and includes log buildings from the early 1920s as well as structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Traces of the wagon road are still visible, and a pioneer gravesite remains from the early days of travel on the road.