Settlement began in 1896 when a timber camp was established between Parkerville and Mt Helena (Lion Mill) to cut sleepers and firewood.
Stoneville was established as a stop on the eastern railway in 1920 and a local progress association built a hall in 1944 to accommodate a local school which was operational until 1953.
Mt Helena, formerly White's Mill, was established in 1882 to provide sleepers for the railway line. Timber from the Mill was also used in Woodbridge House at Guildford and in the interior of St Georges Cathedral in Perth. White's Mill closed in 1888 and was replaced by Lion Jarrah Mill which patented a new type of flooring known as "pavodilus" (floor boards fitted together with nails) and in 1896 exported jarrah paving blocks to England.
The Greenmount Road Board Office built the first brick building in 1906 which housed the Local Government office at Lion Mill. The government chose Lion Mill as its headquarters because of its large population due to junction of the two railway lines. The township was renamed Mt Helena in 1924 and fruit growers and poultry farmers kept the town going after the closures of the sawmills.
