The very first settler in the territory later to be known as the Town of Evans was Joel Harvey. He arrived in 1804 and located on the west side of I 8-Mile Creek near its mouth. Mr. Harvey, with an eye to business in viewing the steady flow of emigrants from the East to the "Western Reserve," decided to enlarge his home for hotel purposes. So in 1806 he opened a tavern, the first in the area, and quite appropriately named it The Frontier House.

Although many migrants stopped at the Harvey Tavern on the way to their lands newly purchased from the Holland Land Company, no permanent settlement came until early in 1809 when young Aaron Salisbury located about three miles southwest of the hotel and Aaron Cash settled near the North Evans locale.

In 1810 Anderson Taylor settled at the site of Evans Center while Elijah Gates, Nathaniel Lay, John Barker, and Martin and Seth Sprague built their log houses in the general vicinity but nearer the lake shore. The following year other newcomers in that area were Gideon Dudley, David Corbin, Timothy Dustin, and a Mr. Pike. About the same time, Job Palmer replaced Joel Harvey at The Frontier House.

Settlers arriving in 1811 included James Ayer, from Haverhill, Massachusetts, with his children: Gorham, Low Bradley, Mrs. Martha Dart, Mrs. Mary Low Beal, Mrs. Sarah Bradley Black, Mrs. Henrietta Atwood, and Ira. James, the youngest of the family, was not born until later, when the Ayers were ensconced in their new "wilderness" log home.

Later Hezekiah Dibble arrived, and in 1812 William Cash from Dutchess County came and located in the southwestern section of Evans along the lake shore. With his family of twelve children Mr. Cash cleared his large acreage and developed it into one of the fine farms of Evans.