Lake Tahoe History

The hit television series “Bonanza,” turns 50!

Take a trip through the fascinating past that built present-day Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is a unique and beautiful national treasure that also boasts a rich and colorful historical past. The Washo Indians had been gathering at its shores for centuries when American explorers Kit Carson and John Fremont came upon it in 1844. The Lake Tahoe Basin was a summer gathering place for three tribes of these peaceful Indians, who considered the Lake to be a spiritual site and conducted sacred ceremonies on the South Shore.

Even today, the ancient name for the Lake lives on in a modern form. The Washoes named the area "Da-ow-a-ga," or "edge of the Lake." The explorers, however, unaccustomed to the native tongue, interpreted the phrase as "Tahoe." The name had staying power even though the Lake was christened "Bonpland" after a French botanist, "Mountain Lake" for obvious reasons and "Bigler Lake" after California's third governor before finally receiving Lake Tahoe as its official name in 1945.

The peaceful silence surrounding Lake Tahoe was broken not long after the first pioneers' arrival. By the 1860s, silver was discovered in the Sierra Nevada. Fortunes seekers scurried to the Lake Tahoe area during the California Gold Rush, hoping to strike it rich as the massive Comstock Lode discovered in 1859 in nearby Virginia City, Nevada. Would-be miners rushed to Lake Tahoe over northerly Beckworth Pass and Donner Pass, site of the famous wagon train tragedy, and Carson Pass to the south to circumnavigate the Tahoe Basin.

Soon, the influx of pioneers to the region was so great that "Bonanza Road," later to become Highway 50, was forged across the mountains. As traffic increased, way stations, stables and toll houses to collect fares for traveling Bonanza Road began to spring up.

Silver wasn't the only valuable commodity early settlers found in the area. Tahoe's timber-rich forests became a necessary resource for the increasing number of people needing fuel and to support the labyrinth of mines being constructed beneath Virginia City. But the easy availability of timber soon led to the devastation of Tahoe's forests, which were heavily logged between 1860 and 1890. The decline of the Comstock Lode probably rescued Tahoe's diminishing forests.

By the turn of the century, word of Lake Tahoe's natural beauty had reached the elite families of San Francisco. The wealthy, seeking a new scenic getaway, flocked to Lake Tahoe to stay at the area's plush new hotels. During this heyday of steamship transportation, the boats delivered mail and supplies to the hotels just as often as they hosted visitors' lavish parties.

Lady Luck arrived at the Lake and unpacked her bags in 1944, when Harvey's Wagon Wheel Saloon and Gambling Hall opened as one of the area's first gaming establishments. But competition soon sprang up and so did the need for more permanent accommodations. By the 1950s, roads began to be plowed year-round, enabling access to permanent residences. When the 1960 Winter Olympics came to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe was put firmly on the map as the skiing center of the western United States.

Although the development of the Lake Tahoe area has come far, modern planners today use the ancient wisdom of the Washo Indians when building in the area. Realizing the need to preserve the Lake's beauty in the face of progress, California and Nevada formed the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in 1968 to oversee environmentally responsible development in the Basin. The agency's balanced approach has enabled them to limit the construction while devising a redevelopment plan that will improve the economy, tourist access and the environment well into the next century.

Today, Lake Tahoe still retains its pioneer charm while displaying an ancient respect for nature. While hotels, casinos and ski resorts draw millions of guests each year, the area's main attraction continues to be the restful silence of the wilderness and the awe-inspring beauty of the Lake. As the Washo Indians realized centuries ago, the "edge of the lake" is a unique and special place.