Lieutenant John Mullan and his military and civilian road crews constructed a portion of the 624 mile military road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton through this area on June 3rd and 4th, 1861. After crossing the Spokane River at Plante's Ferry near present day Millwood in the Spokane Valley, the expedition brought the road eastward. Mullan noted Indian farms along the route, including that of Chief Seltice of the Coeur d'Alene Indians, whom he described as "frank, honest and friendly". Mullan called the natural falls near here the "upper falls" of the Spokane River, and recommended to the War Department that they be blasted away to reclaim 32,000 acres of farm land in the drainages that feed Lake Coeur d'Alene. The military road became known as the Mullan Road and was the first constructed road in Idaho.