Archeological evidence indicates that the Kalapuya occupied the area for several centuries.
A hunting and gathering people, the Kalapuya frequently burned the grasses of the valley to clear brush and provide a better habitat for the game and vegetation they depended on for food. By the time the first white settlers arrived, the valley was an open grassy prairie with isolated white oaks and other trees. The first cabin in what is now known as Eugene was erected in 1846 by Eugene Franklin Skinner. It served as a general trading post and was authorized as a post office in 1850. This was the first official recognition of the community.