In 1874 on this and adjoining property, Captain Judah Parker and partners built and operated the first steam sawmill and steam tug on the Coquille River. A year later, Captain Parker, with the assistance of settlers and farmers, diverted the entrance of the Coquille River, performing the first harbor work of the Pacific Coast. This opened the Coquille River Valley to ocean-going traffic, and his foresight was such that the entrance essentially remains today as originally conceived.