William McLachlan discovered alluvial gold at Pleasant Creek in May 1853, but the yield was not in sufficient volumes to attract much interest, as the Ballarat and Bendigo fields were known to be giving better results, and had already established the infrastructure to support the miners. There was however sufficient numbers for the area to support the beginnings of a settlement. The town site was first settled during 1853 and was named Pleasant Creek. The mining population of the Stawell field remained relatively small (averaging 200 or less) until 1857 when a series of new alluvial gold discoveries were made.

Twain was there October 18 and 19 of 1895.

"Stawell is in the gold-mining country. In the bank-safe was half a peck of surface-gold—gold dust, grain gold; rich; pure in fact, and pleasant to sift through one's fingers; and would be pleasanter if it would stick. And there were a couple of gold bricks, very heavy to handle, and worth $7,500 a piece. They were from a very valuable quartz mine; a lady owns two-thirds of it; she has an income of $75,000 a month from it, and is able to keep house." [FTE]