For centuries, Siuslaw, Yachats, and Alsea Tribes were drawn to the rich marine resources at Heceta Head, and as they hunted, fished, and traveled, they established trails. In the 1800s, many of those ancient paths were turned into wagon roads by Euroamerican settlers. Where they could, 19th-century travelers used the beaches as the expressways of the era, but at headlands they had to choose between a risky low-tide dash around or climbing up and over. At Heceta Head, travelers went upland, following a wagon road that passed just below the lightkeepers’ houses. The concrete trail along the cliff was the route the lightkeepers used to get to work day and night, replacing a wooden boardwalk in the 1920s; the boardwalk had a handrail to help show the way in fog and at night.