The land here lies within the township of Lincoln, granted on January 31, 1764, to James Avery and others and named after Henry Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln. The original grant contained 32,456 acres, but settlers did not begin to arrive until after the American Revolution. In 1856, the Gazetteer of New Hampshire observed that many portions of the town seemed designed by nature for creatures with habits different from those of men. About a mile south of here, David Guernsey, one of the first settlers, built a two-story blockhouse with the second story projecting 8 feet over the first, and in 1812 settlers defended themselves there during an Indian attack. When the blockhouse was torn down in 1892, arrowheads were found in the logs. One-half mile north of here once stood Knights Tavern, built in 1846 and open to travelers for several years. Near the same location, the first Flume House was built in 1848, where visitors could eat and sleep for $1.50 per day, and across the road stood a small white chapel built in 1853. In 1871 the Flume House and chapel burned, and the hotel was rebuilt in 1872. For many years, the Flume Houses served thousands of visitors who came by stagecoach and wagon to see the wonders of the Flume, until the second Flume House burned to the ground in June 1918 and was never rebuilt.