The area was known by a number of names over the years, Seminole, Selway River Ranch and Moose Creek. Frank Freeman applied for a 126 acre homestead along Moose Creek in 1908. He was an important contributor to the history of the Moose Creek drainage. Today Freeman Peak stands directly to the west reminding people of his place in that history.

The homestead was sold to Alson Johnstone in 1925 and he gave it a try for a year. In 1926, Fred Shaner, district ranger at Moose Creek Ranger Station from 1926 to 1930, acquired the place. In 1952, Omar V. Richardson purchased the homestead and called it Selway River Ranch.

In 1956 Riverside Mill owners Joe E. Richardson and Gwen Maynard purchased it. Approximately 80,000 board feet of lumber, 1,000 bricks, 1,500 concrete blocks, and 70 tons of rock were flown in to the Moose Creek Ranger Station airfield during construction. They called the ranch simply "Moose Creek".

In 1964, Robert T. Griffith bought the ranch to operate a small outfitters operation and called it "The Seminole" after a close friend who was part Seminole Indian. The Conservation Fund purchased the ranch in 2001 and in 2005 the Forest Service acquired the property.

Information from "Homesteads of the Selway" by Cindy L. Schacher, Archaeological Technician, Nez Perce National Forest.

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