Forest Lake Resort

Last updated
Forest Lake
Resort
Forest Lake USGS topo map.png
Forest Lake between Cobb (NW) and Whispering Pines (SE). Buildings on the SW side of Hwy 175, golf course and lake on the NE side
Relief map of California.png
Red pog.svg
Forest Lake
Location in California
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Forest Lake
Forest Lake (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°49′05″N122°43′04″W / 38.81806°N 122.71778°W / 38.81806; -122.71778
Country United States
State California
County Lake County
Elevation
[1]
2,631 ft (802 m)
[1]

Forest Lake Resort was a resort in the Cobb Mountain area of Lake County, California, in an area of wet meadows along Kelsey Creek. Originally a campground, it was developed into a resort in the 1930s to exploit the growing automobile-based recreation market. The resort was sold in 1963. By 1989 it was longer operational, and was being considered for development as a community park site.

Contents

Location

Forest Lake is 0.25 miles (0.4 km) northwest of Whispering Pines. [2] It is at an elevation of 2,631 feet (802 m). [1] Forest Lake is dominated by wet meadow and waterway features. [3] Kelsey Creek, from Forest Lake downstream to around Glenbrook, is a federally designated flood boundary. That is, it is a floodplain that is expected to be inundated every 100 years. [4]

Early years

Originally the Forest Lake property was the home of James Hartford Smith, who bought the land in 1868. [5] His son Nate turned it into a campground, which he ran with his wife, which passed in turn to his son Will in 1900. [5] Will Smith sold the campground to Hugh Davey. [6] Jim McCauley had operated a brewery in Vallejo, but Prohibition in 1920 forced him to look for new sources of revenue. He lent money to Davey with the campground and Boggs Mountain as collateral. Davey defaulted in 1922 and McCauley's Calso Company became the owner. [7]

McCauley bottled "Calso Water" at the Camp Calso spring. It was thought to help relieve hangovers, and was popular between 1924 and 1942. [8] [lower-alpha 1] In 1926 he created the Camp Calso residential subdivision as a speculation. Many of the lots were very small, and there was no provision for water, sewer or drainage. [11] [lower-alpha 2]

Resort

McCauley decided to turn the campground into a resort, originally named Camp Calso. He put up the main building in 1930. [6] The resort was among the new automobile-oriented vacation resorts developed in the 1930s, others being Whispering Pines and Pine Grove. Many of the older resorts did not make the transition to automobiles and had to close down. [14] McCauley dammed a branch of Kelsey Creek to create Lake McCauley in 1935. He built cabins, and in 1937 made a swimming pool. [6] Guests at the resort played a game named Calso after the bottled water. similar to Bingo. Dance music was provided by entertainers such as Jimmy Catalano and his Band. [15]

McCauley renamed Camp Calso to Forest Lake Resort in 1938. [6] He and his niece's husband Vince Emerson ran the resort successfully until 1939, when Emerson took full responsibility. [7] McCauley died on 26 December 1942. [16] His property was divided between seven nieces and nephews, one of whom was Vince Emerson's son Don, who lived near the resort in Cobb. [17] [lower-alpha 3] Husband and wife Vince and Marian Emerson ran the resort until Vince died in 1946, when the resort continued to be run by Marian and their son Don. Don in turn owned and ran it with his wife Dorothy from 1950 to 1963, creating the Hoberg's Forest Lake Golf Course in 1954. [6] [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5] Many family activities were available, including horseback riding. Supervised activities were provided for children, including swimming in the pool, games, hay rides and special meal times. [21] The Emersons sold the resort to Joe Breen and Vic Tamera in 1963. [6] [18] Later Forest Lake became the property of Calistoga Mineral Water, a subsidiary of Nestlé. [6]

Later developments

As of 1989 7.8 acres (3.2 ha) of vacant land beside the Forest Lake area was zoned for of low-density residential planned development. [22] Zoning allowed residential and commercial development along California State Route 175 north of the Forest Lake area to the Bottle Rock Road intersection, but half the commercial space was vacant or underutilized. [23] Some planned development commercial zoning applied to open space at Forest Lake on land with sensitive environmental resources adjacent to previously approved planned development. [23] Portions of Forest Lake were designated for resource conservation land uses. [23]

A plan for the Cobb Mountain Area issued in 1989 discussed developing Forest Lake as a park facility. [24] The 1989 Cobb Mountain Area plan recommended that its recreational development be limited to low-cost passive facilities such as picnic sites, trails and walkways, and should be improved for outdoors activities such as fishing and wildlife observation. It could be classified as a community park site. [3] The Cobb Area Council held a public meeting on 18 April 2019 where it was reported that the county was still not looking at changing Forest Lake into a park, although there was local support for the idea. [25]

Notes

  1. ↑ In 1934 the Calso Co. was accused of misbranding and violation of the Food and Drugs Act with its Calso Water. The statements regarding the curative and therapeutic effects were found to be false and fraudulent. [9] As noted by The New York Times in 1979, Calso water might come from the Sierra Nevado, but the company got it from a city tap. [10]
  2. ↑ Roads in the Camp Calso subdivision include Edgewood Way, now partly in Whispering Pines to the south. [12] Under the 1989 Cobb Mountain Area Plan, parts of the Camp Calso subdivision were transferred to the Substandard Older Subdivision Combining District. [13]
  3. ↑ The Boggs Mountain property was later purchased by the State of California for use as the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest.
  4. ↑ Donald and Dorothy Emerson bought the resort from other members of their family when Emerson was 21. Emerson was twice president of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and was twice president of the Redwood Empire Association. [18]
  5. ↑ The nine-hole Hoberg's Forest Lake Golf Course later became the Cobb Meadows Golf Course, then the Rob Roy Golf Club, then Cobb Mountain Golf, then Black Rock Golf Course. [19] [20]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 GNIS.
  2. ↑ Durham 1998.
  3. 1 2 Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 5.17.
  4. ↑ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 4.2.
  5. 1 2 Hoberg 2007, p. 109.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hoberg 2007, pp. 109–110.
  7. 1 2 Dillon 1995, p. 163.
  8. ↑ Parker 2015, p. 15.
  9. ↑ United States. Food and Drug Administration 1935, p. 260.
  10. ↑ Blackburn 1979.
  11. ↑ Larson 2015.
  12. ↑ Way: Edgewood Way (10267574).
  13. ↑ Lake County Planning Department 1989, pp. 6.9–10.
  14. ↑ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 3.22.
  15. ↑ Hoberg 2007.
  16. ↑ Turner 1951.
  17. ↑ Dillon 1995, p. 164.
  18. 1 2 Emerson remembered ... 2010.
  19. ↑ Black Rock Golf Course.
  20. ↑ Larson 2012.
  21. ↑ Hoberg 2007, p. 113.
  22. ↑ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 6.5.
  23. 1 2 3 Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 6.6.
  24. ↑ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 2.6.
  25. ↑ Pyska 2019.

Sources

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobb, California</span> Census designated place in California, United States

Cobb is a census designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. Cobb is located 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Whispering Pines, at an elevation of 2,631 feet (802 m). The population was 1,778 at the 2010 census, up from 1,638 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouachita National Forest</span> American forest

The Ouachita National Forest is a vast congressionally-designated National Forest that lies in the western portion of Arkansas and portions of extreme-eastern Oklahoma, USA.

Duck Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park, located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) east of the town of Kamsack and stretches about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) eastward to the Saskatchewan / Manitoba boundary. The park covers approximately 150 km2 (58 sq mi). Road access to the park is via Highway 57, which connects Saskatchewan Highway 5 to Manitoba Highway 83.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobb Mountain</span> Mountain in California

Cobb Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Pillsbury</span> Reservoir in Lake County, California

Lake Pillsbury is a lake in the Mendocino National Forest of Lake County, California, created from the Eel River and Hull Mountain watershed by Scott Dam. Elevation is 1,818 ft (554 m) with 65 mi (105 km) of shoreline and covering 2,003 acres (811 ha). Activities in the Lake Pillsbury Recreation Area include powerboating, fishing, swimming, sailing, picnicking, hiking and hang gliding. There are two main access roads to the lake. At the north end of the lake is a small gravel airstrip. About 400 vacation cabins including National Forest Recreational Residences ring the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moose Mountain Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in Saskatchewan, Canada

Moose Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park, located in south-eastern Saskatchewan 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of the town of Carlyle on the Moose Mountain Upland. It is one of Saskatchewan's few parks with a community inside the park as there are several subdivisions with both year-round and seasonal residents. The village of Kenosee Lake is completely surrounded by the park but is not part of the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest</span> State forest in California

Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest is a state forest in Lake County, California that covers the northwest of Boggs Mountain. It was founded in 1949, and came into operation in 1950 when most of the site had been clear cut. The purpose was to demonstrate good practices in restoring and managing a forest. The state forest was open for recreational use, including camping, hiking, mountain biking etc. The 2015 Valley Fire destroyed 80% of the trees. The state forest as of 2021 was replanting saplings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adams, California</span> Resort in California, United States

Adams is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California. It was formerly Adams Springs, a summer resort developed around a small group of mineral water springs.

Glenbrook was a resort in Lake County, California. It was located 10 miles (16 km) south-southeast of Kelseyville, at an elevation of 2293 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobergs, California</span> Resort in California, United States

Hobergs is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California. It grew up around the former Hoberg's Resort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seigler Springs, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Seigler Springs is a set of springs in Lake County, California around which a resort developed in the 19th century. In the 1930s the resort was expanded, and in 1947 an airport opened nearby. The resort declined in the 1960s. Part of it was separated out and became a residential subdivision, while part became a religious retreat. The 2015 Valley Fire caused great damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley Fire</span> Wildfire in Lake County, California

The Valley Fire was a wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12 in Lake County, California. It began shortly after 1:00 pm near Cobb with multiple reports of a small brush fire near the intersection of High Valley and Bottlerock Roads. It quickly spread and by 6:30 PM PDT, it had burned more than 10,000 acres (40 km2). By Sunday, the thirteenth of September, the fire had reached 50,000 acres (202 km2) and had destroyed much of Cobb, Middletown, Whispering Pines, and parts in the south end of Hidden Valley Lake. The fire ultimately spread to 76,067 acres (308 km2), killed four people and destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings, before it was fully contained on October 15, 2015, causing at least $921 million in insured property damage. At the time, the fire was the third-most destructive fire in California history, based on the total structures burned, but the Camp Fire (2018) and the North Complex fire in 2020, exceeded that total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boggs Mountain</span> Mountain in the state of California

Boggs Mountain is a mountain the Mayacamas Mountains in Lake County, California. Part of the mountain holds the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. About 80% of the trees were burned in the September 2015 Valley Fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelsey Creek (Lake County)</span> Watercourse in Lake Country, California, United States

Kelsey Creek is a watercourse in Lake County, California, United States, that feeds Clear Lake from the south. The watershed was forest-covered. In the lower parts it has been converted to farmland and for urban use. Higher up the forests have been cleared, regrown and cleared again. The northern part of the creek flows through a geothermal field that feeds power plants and hot springs. The wooded Cobb area in the higher part of the watershed holds resorts and resort communities, some dating to the 1850s.

The Bottle Rock Power Plant (BRPP) is a geothermal power plant in the Glenbrook Area of Lake County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoberg's Resort</span> Resort in California, United States

Hoberg's Resort was a holiday resort in Lake County, California. The unincorporated community of Hobergs grew up around it. The resort started out in the 1890s as a sideline where a farmer's wife offered meals to travelers, and it then became an economical place for campers and hunters to stay. It expanded, and after the founder's grandsons took over in 1934 it grew into a large and fashionable resort catering to weekend visitors who motored up from the San Francisco Bay Area. There was a swimming pool, dining hall, bar and outdoors dance floor, as well as amenities like hairdressers, a barber, resident physician, coffee shop and general store. Hollywood celebrities, politicians and businessmen stayed at the resort and were entertained by big-name musicians. By the 1960s, the resort had gone into decline, and it closed in 1971. The main building was destroyed by the 2015 Valley Fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Hoberg Airport</span> Former airstrip in Lake County, California

The Paul Hoberg Airport, or simply Hobergs Airport is an abandoned airport in Lake County, California, United States. It was opened in 1947 for use by guests of the nearby Hoberg's Resort, and was busy until the 1960s. By 1982 it had been abandoned.

Seigler Mountain is a mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of the Northern California Coast Ranges. It is in Lake County, California.

Mount Hannah is a mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of the Northern California Coast Ranges. It is in Lake County, California.

Big Canyon Creek is a creek in Lake County, California. It is a tributary of Putah Creek.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.