Once the site of the Coeur d'Alene Indian village Q emiln ("throat of the river"), the town of Post Falls grew from the early commercial lumbering efforts of German immigrant, Frederick Post. Post came to the area from Illinois in 1871 and set up businesses in Rathdrum, Spokane, and Post Falls, building the area's first gristmill at Spokane Falls in 1876. He returned to the "Little Falls" (Post Falls) of the Spokane River and used the falls to power the area's first commercial lumber mill. Several lumber mills operated in Post Falls over the years. Logs arrived by horse, water, and later by rail and highway. Agricultural activities were also important to Post Falls' economy. Grass seed replaced earlier crops such as beans in the 1950s.