In 1821, Mr. J. Grant was granted one of the first permits to settle in the Hartley Valley. In 1823, Collit's Inn was built at the bottom of the Pass on Cox's road. In 1815, the Valley at the foot of Mount York was called Vale of Clwydd. In 1838, plans were made to set up a township in Hartley Valley. In 1837, the Hartley Courthouse was built to house the lawbreakers caught between Penrith and Bathurst and the magistrate who presided there was Mr. Thomas Brown, who lived at his home, Eskbank, in the Lithgow Valley.

Gold was discovered in 1832 however it was not enough to warrant any real interest in these early days. Bushrangers were captured near the Jenolan Caves around this time and this led to much publicity and the discovery of the caves as a prominent landmark as well as Mount Jenolan, from which the caves were named.