In the late 1870's, Henry Kohler was the first settler to come to the Surface Creek Valley and build a cabin on Surface Creek.
As the story goes, Henry Kohler built a log cabin on Surface Creek in the late 1870's. The Ute Indians still lived in the area and had a camp on near the saddle of Cedar Mesa, within sight of the Cabin. One evening they showed up to the cabin and told Henry they gave him until the morning to be gone from the valley. He left that night only to return once the valley had been open for settlement.