The Estes valley was first visited by the Arapahoe, Ute, and Apache, who used it primarily for hunting. The town itself was founded in 1859 by Joel Estes, a would-be farmer who discovered the growing season to be too short at this elevation. Other notable early settlers included Enos Mills, the father of Rocky Mountain National Park; the MacGregors, whose ranch is a working museum today; and F.O. Stanley, who built the Stanley Hotel and invented the Stanley Steamer automobile.