Volume 032-2 - April 1978 (6 pages)

interested in using Campbell’s Hot Springs, Independence, Weber, and Gold Lakes for health, recreation and fishing. Independence Lake in particular was the focus of both sport and commercial fishing. The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout which spawns in Independence Creek and lives in the lake was exploited so heavily before 1880 that the California Fish Commission was becoming concerned that it might die out. They began programs to protect and assist the spawning trout. At the present time the National Forest and the California Fish and Game authorities cooperate to remove the spawning Lahontan Cutthroat Trout and raise the eggs elsewhere. When the baby trout have reached suitable size they are replanted in the lake. This fish now carries the designation of a “threatened species’’.5 The permanent use of the lake began in 1885 when a resort was built by a Dr. Fonda. Because of his success he expanded the facilities to accommodate more summer visitors. In 1890 James McDonald of the Boca based Union Ice Company took over from Dr. Fonda. McDonald began the first permanent alteration of the lake itself when he built a dam at its outlet for the purpose of ice harvesting. Approximately 1,000 tons of ice were harvested each of the four years of its operation. In addition to the ice operations McDonald established a horse drawn stage line to transfer visitors and guests from the railroad at Boca to his lodge facilities. In 1894 the Boca Saw Mill Company took over from McDonald and enlarged the lake’s tourist accommodations while apparently proscribing its ice harvesting uses. The larger lodge which was constructed at that time expanded the recreational possibilities of the lake.® In the period from 1894 to 1917 the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company, founded originally by Walter Hobart decided to transfer its operations from Lake Tahoe to the present site of Hobart Mills in Nevada County. The exhaustion of timber supplies around Tahoe was the reason Hobart advanced for this move. Part of his extensive operation came to affect the lake and the timber located on its shores. In order to harvest this timber the Hobart company extended a spur to the lake after constructing a standard gauge railroad line which connected with the Southern Pacific at Truckee. Some traces of the old rail bed can still be seen near Independence today. In 1917 the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company closed its operations and transferred them to the Hobart Estate Company. After 1935 the holdings around the lake were in turn transferred to the Sierra Pacific Power Company. As this company expanded its water service to the Reno area it decided to enlarge the dam at the outlet of the lake and to construct a spillway. At the present time this company continues to operate a camping facility at the lake.’ One of the most interesting cultural features associated with the shores of Independence Lake is the Basque sheepherder tree carving site located at its Southwestern end. Similar carvings appear in several areas in the Sierra. They are typically found in Aspen groves along well watered meadow margins. The grove at Independence Lake is one of the most important of the sites which still exist. The earliest date found at the Independence site is 1890 although earlier carvings may well be there. The themes associated with the carvings at Independence include initials and names of the carvers, places of origin in the Basque provinces of Spain and France, sexually explicit carvings which reflect the longings of the young and isolated male herders, and elaborate carving of farm houses left de 4 a oat wae ye ng = a ~ at pe behind in the home country and the sheep and cattle with which they are associated. The Basques accompanied Columbus to the New World, were among the Franciscans and sailors who founded California, and participated in economic activities at the time of the Gold Rush; their entrance into the Eastern Sierra was probably after the 1870’s. Thus the carving of 1890 is an important record of the early economic and social activity of this interesting ethnic group. The latest Basque carvings at Independence Lake were made as recently as 1976 and show their continuous seasonal use of the area for at least 90 years.® The foregoing study of the origin and human uses of Independence Lake and the immediate area surrounding it was written with two : BS " #+ ~~ bee a + Basque Herder carving at Inlet of Independence Creek.

interested in using Campbell’s Hot Springs, Independence, Weber, and Gold Lakes for health, recreation and fishing. Independence Lake in particular was the focus of both sport and commercial fishing. The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout which spawns in Independence Creek and lives in the lake was exploited so heavily before 1880 that the California Fish Commission was becoming concerned that it might die out. They began programs to protect and assist the spawning trout. At the present time the National Forest and the California Fish and Game authorities cooperate to remove the spawning Lahontan Cutthroat Trout and raise the eggs elsewhere. When the baby trout have reached suitable size they are replanted in the lake. This fish now carries the designation of a “threatened species’’.5 The permanent use of the lake began in 1885 when a resort was built by a Dr. Fonda. Because of his success he expanded the facilities to accommodate more summer visitors. In 1890 James McDonald of the Boca based Union Ice Company took over from Dr. Fonda. McDonald began the first permanent alteration of the lake itself when he built a dam at its outlet for the purpose of ice harvesting. Approximately 1,000 tons of ice were harvested each of the four years of its operation. In addition to the ice operations McDonald established a horse drawn stage line to transfer visitors and guests from the railroad at Boca to his lodge facilities. In 1894 the Boca Saw Mill Company took over from McDonald and enlarged the lake’s tourist accommodations while apparently proscribing its ice harvesting uses. The larger lodge which was constructed at that time expanded the recreational possibilities of the lake.® In the period from 1894 to 1917 the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company, founded originally by Walter Hobart decided to transfer its operations from Lake Tahoe to the present site of Hobart Mills in Nevada County. The exhaustion of timber supplies around Tahoe was the reason Hobart advanced for this move. Part of his extensive operation came to affect the lake and the timber located on its shores. In order to harvest this timber the Hobart company extended a spur to the lake after constructing a standard gauge railroad line which connected with the Southern Pacific at Truckee. Some traces of the old rail bed can still

be seen near Independence today. In 1917 the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company closed its operations and transferred them to the Hobart Estate Company. After 1935 the holdings around the lake were in turn transferred to the Sierra Pacific Power Company. As this company expanded its water service to the Reno area it decided to enlarge the dam at the outlet of the lake and to construct a spillway. At the present time this company continues to operate a camping facility at the lake.’ One of the most interesting cultural features associated with the shores of Independence Lake is the Basque sheepherder tree carving site located at its Southwestern end. Similar carvings appear in several areas in the Sierra. They are typically found in Aspen groves along well watered meadow margins. The grove at Independence Lake is one of the most important of the sites which still exist. The earliest date found at the Independence site is 1890 although earlier carvings may well be there. The themes associated with the carvings at Independence include initials and names of the carvers, places of origin in the Basque provinces of Spain and France, sexually explicit carvings which reflect the longings of the young and isolated male herders, and elaborate carving of farm houses left de 4 a oat wae ye ng = a ~ at pe behind in the home country and the sheep and cattle with which they are associated. The Basques accompanied Columbus to the New World, were among the Franciscans and sailors who founded California, and participated in economic activities at the time of the Gold Rush; their entrance into the Eastern Sierra was probably after the 1870’s. Thus the carving of 1890 is an important record of the early economic and social activity of this interesting ethnic group. The latest Basque carvings at Independence Lake were made as recently as 1976 and show their continuous seasonal use of the area for at least 90 years.® The foregoing study of the origin and human uses of Independence Lake and the immediate area surrounding it was written with two : BS " #+ ~~ bee a + Basque Herder carving at Inlet of Independence Creek.