These lands fell under the Homestead Act. Prospective settlers must live on the claim for two years, build a cabin, pay $1/acre to the government plus the cost of surveying, and then the property was theirs. Many came out to the Queen Charlottes to take advantage of what they thought to be an ideal situation. However, as the British Columbian government encouraged these settlers, they also issued coal, timber, and petroleum licenses to various companies, covering the same territory that they were selling to the settlers. This meant that many prospective farmers and ranchers made it out to this remote location only to find they could not do anything with the land they “purchased”.

There were many who chose to homestead in the area that is now Naikoon Park, growing vegetables, raising cattle and taking gold from the sand beaches. Settlers came from four distinct areas, the northwestern United States, the Winnipeg area, the British Isles, and the Yukon-Alaska gold fields. Many had no idea of how to farm or raise cattle, but, like many pioneers, they took up homesteading with the hope that they could make a home in this remote section of the world. Between 1908- 1914, eight town sites sprung up in the area. However, by World War II, most of these towns were either abandoned or were forced to amalgamate with other townships to survive.

Poor access because of the industrial licenses which prevented roads to be built into the homesteading areas, many settlers who went off to World War I and never returned, and the lack of markets for their crops and cattle due to the island’s remoteness and inaccessibility to the British Columbian mainland caused most settlers to abandon their settlement efforts before the Great Depression. Nature has reclaimed most of the homesteads and settlements, and it is impossible to tell in some areas that anyone ever lived or worked there.

Many of the interesting place names in the area are the sole reminder of these former settlers of long ago. For example, the Lumber Pile, located about 4 or 5 miles north of Eagle Creek, got its name when a storm on Hecate Straight swept a great pile of timber onto the Naikoon area shoreline, much to the delight of several settlers looking for building materials for  their homestead. Other places, like Martell Creek, Spence Lake, the Carr and Whittle Trail, and McIntyre Bay are all named for settlers either long dead or moved away. However, their spirit still lives on on the island they once called home.