[4] The name of the community is taken from Mary Loftis (née Rogers, also spelled Loftus),[5] an owner of a restaurant located in the area that began operations in the late 1880s.

In 1927, Susie escaped from her leash and attacked a teenager, resulting in physical injuries and a lawsuit; the pet ursus was put down.

After the community merged with the Winlock school district in the early 1960s, the schoolhouse was sold to a family and the building has been used as a private residence since the 1970s.

Homeowners in the 2010s began a renovation that strengthened the original gymnasium and displayed the 400-pound (180 kg) school bell that was repurchased in the 1990s after it was sold in 1965.

The John R. Jackson House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and protected as a state park, is located in the town.

[10] The community's Jackson Prairie Church is the starting and end point of several routes for the Lewis County Historic Bike Ride, an annual fundraising event begun in the early 1990s.

Klein was sold to Trek Bicycle in 1995 and the manufacturing site closed in 2002 as the new ownership transferred its holdings to Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trex's home base.

Due to a combination of state laws and failed tax initiatives in the early 1960s, the school merged with the districts of Winlock, and eventually Napavine.