Milford and Martha (Mattie) Shirley Givens left Missouri in 1878, apparently bound for Portland, Oregon, but their journey along the South Alternative Route of the Oregon Trail brought them to the hot springs area on the Snake River, where Mattie chose to settle. In the spring of 1881, they claimed Squatter's Rights to 154 1/2 acres that included two hot springs and riverbank land, built a comfortable 2-story house, and planted shade and fruit trees. Their property became a popular place for bathing and washing clothes, and as the therapeutic value of the hot springs became known, miners from Silver City, local residents, and Oregon Trail travelers visited frequently. Milford added to the family's income by hauling catches of sturgeon, deer, and antelope to restaurants and butcher shops in Silver City. In 1889, the Givens left to visit family in Portland, not realizing that their absence could allow others to claim the land under the same law by which they had held it. Mattie's brother Tim Shirley, who lived nearby, learned of an interloper's plans and rushed to Silver City to file Homestead Rights. President Grover Cleveland recognized the claim on December 19, 1894, and early the next year Tim deeded the property to Mattie. About 1902, with help from family and other carpenters, a swimming pool, pool house, and hotel were built there. The hotel burned in 1939, but the pool house survived and continued in operation until the current structure was built in 1952.