 A post office opened January 13, 1903, and was discontinued on December 5, 1970.The settlement was founded by Herman Keranen (born November 5, 1862 in Puolanka, Oulun Laani, Finland), who had been working in the lumber camps when he bought several plots and constructed a crude log cabin.With the money he earned from lumbering, he established the largest and most productive farm in the area, which led to the community being named for him.