In 1850 George Thomas operated a sawmill here, and in the next decade as settlers began to arrive he built a gristmill. The new village, also known as Gull Lake, was a few miles south of the Reverend Leonard Slater’s Baptist Indian mission. Thomas dominated local affairs, being the leading merchant, the postmaster, a large landowner, and a member of the state legislature. At the turn of the century, when the village was practically abandoned, Gull Lake became popular as a summer resort.