Blue River was founded in 1900 when Samuel Sparks divided his homestead and sold lots for houses. The Blue River Mining District shuttered in 1924, but many miners stayed and worked as loggers. Soon, the automobile replaced the stagecoach making recreational travel a popular pastime and people from all over Oregon came to hike, fish, and hunt on the McKenzie River. With good paying jobs and healthy tourism, Blue River supported stables, eateries, and even the three-story Sparks Hotel that advertised “Old Time Dances” until the late 1920s.