Although Mussoorie, as a hill station, was established in 1825 by Captain Young, it has quote intriguing past. Mussoorie was never an official summer capital unlike Shimla and not even like Nanital. It always remained unofficial- for the affairs of the heart.
It was due to the Garhwal and Dehra in 1803 by the Gurkhas and Umer Singh Thapa that indirectly Mussoorie came into existence. The history of Mussoorie town dates back to 1825 when Captain Young, an adventurous British military officer, together with one Mr. Shore, the resident Superintendent of Revenues at Dehradun, explored the present site and jointly constructed a shooting lodge. This laid the foundation of this holiday resort. Its name is derived from a shrub locally known as mansoor behind the house of the Captain. It is also known as Mansoori among the natives of the surrounding areas.
Before the British came, there were only shepherds whose animals gazed on that mansoor shrub. It is natural to suppose that the officers locate the hills and eventually climb them here and there in search of sport and recreation. The first house erected on the ridge of Mussoorie was a small hut as a shooting box by Mr. Shore. Soon, the Captain Young built his larger residence called ‘Mullingar’ as his residence as a commandant of Landor. The splendid climate and the good sport obtainable gradually attracted other Europeans. The town grew rapidly and a hundred years on it had grown into the major settlement of the home- sick British, away from the heat and the dust of the plains.
In April 1959, after fleeing the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama decided to establish the Tibetan Government of Exile in Mussoorie. But then the Government of Exile eventually moved to Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh). The first Tibetan school was established in Mussoorie in 1960. Today, some 5,000 Tibetans live in Mussoorie.
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