The cellar holes, stone walls, artifacts, and other material evidence of the former residents of this area are an unwritten reminder and historical record of their lives.

There are a number of archaeological sites on lands managed by the Finger Lakes National Forest, most from the post-Revolutionary period.

Prior to the European "rediscovery" of eastern North America, Native Americans lived in this part of New York for more than 10,000 years.

The lack of reliable water sources and lime-rich soils (good for corn agriculture) precluded development of large year-round Haudenosaunee villages within the Forest's present-day boundaries, but the original forest cover of pines and hardwoods (such as hickory, elm, beech, chestnut, oak, and maple) would have made this a good hunting and nut-gathering territory for these people.

Because of the Haudenosaunee alliance with the British during the American Revolution, George Washington assigned Generals Sullivan and Clinton to mount a campaign against them.

The Sullivan Campaign of 1779 was a major military undertaking which destroyed more than 40 villages and laid to waste hundreds of acres of cultivated fields and a large portion of the stored food and materials the Haudenosaunee and British were dependent upon.

A secondary, non-military result of the neutralization of the Six Nations in this region was that it created "new" lands to allot to Colonial soldiers after the war in partial payment or reward for their service.

The land was divided up into "military lots", the one mile (1.6 km) square (2.6 km2) units that are still the basis for the road (and much of the trail) system present on the Finger Lakes National Forest today.

The farmers prospered until the mid-19th century, when a series of unfortunate events occurred - the popularity of motorized transportation in urban centers (reducing the number of horses to be fed), gradual depletion of the soil resource, and competition from the midwest.

Previously cultivated fields were converted to improved pastures to demonstrate how less intensive agriculture could still make productive use of the land.

The decision was made in 1954 to transfer administrative responsibilities to the U.S. Forest Service, which already had a fairly long history of multiple use management.

Because of this public support, Congress enacted legislation to make it a permanent part of the National Forest System.