The first residents of the Paisley area were Native Americans of the Snake, Modoc and/or Paiute tribes. Early 1870, the first settlers had arrived in the Chewaucan Precinct or Paisley as it is now known. The first town site was about seven miles south of present day Paisley and was know as Chewaucan. (Pronounced Chee-wa-can). Chewaucan is a Klamath Indian word for small potato. In 1874 Lake County was legally approved and by 1875 Lake County was a separate county.