Mountain men explored this valley in 1826, mapping and naming its rivers while searching for places to trap furs, and in the process opened the way for later pioneer settlement in what the Shesheni and Utes called Willow Valley. They named it Cache Valley because they cached, or stored, their pelts in dugouts and later returned for sale at the rendezvous. Pelts sold for approximately $6 per pound, averaging 2 lbs per pelt. Among the better known mountain men were Bridger, Beckwith, Johnson, and Harris. They helped pave the way for settlement of the valley, where Maughan's Fort was founded in 1856 after LDS President Brigham Young sent Peter Maughan and several other families to establish Cache Valley's first settlement, later named Wellsville in 1859.