The Treaty of Doaks Stand, 1820, opened this land to white settlement, and land was quickly claimed as pioneer families established themselves in this wilderness. William Dean and his wife Margaret settled near here on the Old Natchez Trace in 1823. The Deans supplemented their farm income by offering lodging to travelers whose clientele reflected a cross section of the advancing frontier, including the homeward-bound boatman, the hurrying mail rider, the trader in land and horses, the fugitive, and the itinerant preacher. On the night of May 12, 1863, General U.S. Grant made his headquarters here after the Battle of Raymond.