Big Bear Lake
Boulder Bay, Big Bear Lake
Elevation: 6,752'
Area: 6.425 sq mi
Native People
The Big Bear Valley was part of the homeland of the Yuhaaviatam, a Serrano people now known as the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. Their name means "People of the Pines." Yuhaaviat was an area near present-day Baldwin Lake.The mountains and valleys provided acorns, pinon nuts, seeds, berries, roots, and game. The area was part of a larger Native landscape used for travel, gathering, and family life.
Wilson's 1845 Expedition
In 1845 Benjamin Davis Wilson led a party into the mountains while pursuing people accused of raiding Southern California ranches. The party found numerous California grizzly bears in the valley. Wilson's men killed and captured bears, and the encounter gave the valley the name Big Bear Valley.Prospecting began in Bear Valley in 1858. In 1860 William F. Holcomb discovered gold in nearby Holcomb Valley. That discovery brought miners and new settlement to the mountains.
The Dams and Lake
In 1884 Frank Elwood Brown, a Redlands citrus grower, completed the first Bear Valley Dam. The single-arch granite dam stored water for irrigation in the Redlands area and created Big Bear Lake.The first dam did not hold enough water for growing irrigation demands. The Bear Valley Mutual Water Company hired engineer John S. Eastwood to design a larger dam. Construction began in 1910, and the new multiple-arch concrete dam was completed in 1912. It stood about 20 feet higher than the first dam and increased lake capacity to about 73,000 acre-feet.
Recreation and Development
Early travel to Big Bear was difficult. Visitors came by wagon road and stage. Improved roads during the early automobile era made the valley easier to reach.Fishing, boating, camping, hunting, and summer cabins brought more visitors. Lodges, stores, marinas, and homes followed. Ski areas later made Big Bear a winter destination as well.
Big Bear Lake remains a water reservoir and a recreation area. Its history includes Native use of the mountains, the 1845 bear expedition, mining, irrigation, road building, and tourism.
