The aboriginal people of Tahu are of the Atayal tribe while the earliest Chinese people to cultivate and develop the area were Hakka. At one time the area prospered by the production of camphor.
大湖鄉的原住民為泰雅族人，最早來大湖地區墾殖、開發的漢人為客家族群，曾以煉製樟腦興盛。