The article considers the history of the creation and development of the first Russian village in the Altai Mountains - the village of Cherga, which appeared in 1820-s a settlement of peasants assigned to the Cabinet mining plants. According to the author, Cherga played an important role in the economic development of the north-western part of the Altai Mountains. Cherga peasants were successfully engaged in arable farming, cattle breeding, mountain beekeeping, private hauling and taiga fisheries. In the vicinity of Cherga in the second half of the 19th century, there were large dairy farms of entrepreneurs who used advanced technologies and innovations in their farms. In Soviet times, Cherga with the surrounding villages turned into a large multi-industry state farm in the Altai Mountains. The traditions of innovation in Cherga were fully manifested in the 1980-s, when the Altai Experimental Farm of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of USSR was formed on the basis of the Cherginsky State Farm, which was still active at the beginning of the 20th century. Keywords: Seminskaya Valley, Cherga, peasants, economic development, Altai experimental farm SB RAS