In August 1840, Pierre Jean De Smet, a Catholic missionary of Belgian birth, camped near the mouth of the Boulder River with the Salish Indians and celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Father De Smet soon left for St. Louis, then returned the following year to establish the original St. Mary’s Mission in the Bitter Root Valley, hereditary home of the Salish. His fearless and zealous work during the pioneer days became part of an important chapter in Montana’s frontier history. Nearly ninety years later, in 1928, Shadan “Dan” LaHood built a hotel, gas station, and auto camp here to benefit from tourist traffic on the newly opened highway through the Jefferson River Canyon. Five years later, he added several motel units and a roadside cafe. A strong supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal relief programs, LaHood donated adjacent land for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the 1930s, and the boys based there improved access to and within Lewis and Clark Caverns, helping make it one of Montana's premier attractions. LaHood’s hotel burned to the ground in 2001.