The valley is thought to have been named after David Edward
"Davey" Jackson who trapped beaver in the area in the early
nineteenth century as part of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Though used by
Native Americans for hunting and ceremonial purposes, the valley was not known
to harbor year-round human settlement prior to the 1870s. Descriptions of the
valley and its features were recorded in the journals of John Colter, who had
been a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After returning to the Rocky
Mountains, Colter entered the region in 1807 in the vicinity of Togwotee Pass
and became the first white American
