 In 1873, John Minto was appointed by the county to determine if there was a pass through the Cascades east of Salem as had been rumored by accounts of trappers.Minto located the pass, which was named after him, and supervised the construction of a trail.Then, from information he received from John B. Waldo of the Oregon Supreme Court, Minto surveyed a lower pass seven miles (11 km) further south in 1882, now known as Santiam Pass.