The Roseau River valley has always been historically significant.

Native-Americans called the area "Seebossquitan", which stands for "Where the water rolls". Ojibwa and Sioux tribes often used the river as a way to travel to and from Lake of the Woods and the continent's central plains. It was also used in 1734 by the explorer LaVérendrye on his quest for the Western Sea. The area appears on his maps as well as on those of North West Company fur traders as an alternative to the more northerly and dangerous Winnipeg River route.

Eventually European and Métis settlers populated the area. In the 1830's, the Métis trade route of the Crow Wing Trail crossed the river near Oroseau.