Man had settled in the Garth area since the Stone Age and the earliest remains of his work can be seen at Cae'r Arfau between Creigiau and Efail Isaf.
The mounds on the Garth summit date from the Bronze Age.
Farming has been a means to sustain communities in the area and the history of a number of the farms can be traced back over the centuries.
Amongst the farms are Celyn Farm and Garth-fawr farm.
There are records of a cottage, Gwaun Hirion, with a smithy (efail) nearby as part of the Ffrwd estate in 1671.
Gwaun Hirion (or Gweunydd Hirion) was on the site of the present Carpenter's Arms.
Map from about 1830.
