Onion Valley

This article is about Onion Valley in Plumas County and is not to be confused with Onion Valley, Inyo County.

Onion Valley, California
Former settlement
Onion Valley and Pilot Peak, California
Onion Valley, California Show map of California Onion Valley, California Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°47′45″N120°52′55″W / 39.79583°N 120.88194°W / 39.79583; -120.88194
Country	United States
State	California
County	Plumas
Elevation	6,292 ft (1,918 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
GeoNames feature ID	5379432
California Historical Landmark
Reference no.	723

Onion Valley, California is a former California gold rush mining settlement and supply station ^[1] in Plumas County, California, United States.

Geography

Onion Valley was located on Onion Valley Creek northeast of La Porte, California at the foot of Pilot Peak.

Note that the California counties of Inyo, Sierra, Placer, Amador and Calaveras have other locations with the same name.

History

Onion Valley was named for the wild onion plants native to the area. As a Gold Rush community, ^[2] population may have peaked at 1,500 in 1851 ^[3] with six hotels, a few stores and saloons, gambling parlor and a bowling alley. ^[4] Business started to decline at the end of 1851, and by 1853 only 120 settlers are noted. ^[5]

Organized ski club downhill speed races were held at Onion Valley starting in 1861, ^[6] with Sierra longboard skis referred to as "Norwegian snow-shoes". California Historical Landmarks No. 723 and 724 reference Onion Valley as a pioneer organized ski club in America. ^[7]

The 1880 population was listed as 23. A hotel ^[8] and the Eclipse mine was in the area. ^[9]

Photographs capture the decline of the area's human structures from 1905 ^[10] to 1953. ^[11]

See also

• Plumas National Forest
• Pacific Crest Trail
• Lost Sierra
• List of ghost towns in California

References

1. Potter, Theodore Edgar (1913) The Autobiography of Theodore Edgar Potter Rumford Press ISBN   9781981542611 page 99
2. McIlhany, Edward Washington (1908) Recollections of a '49er Hailman Printing Company LCCN   08-29358 pp49–53, 69–70
3. Rensch & Hoover (1966) Historic Spots in California Stanford University Press ISBN   9780804700795 p281
4. Gilbert, Frank & Whiting, Fenton (1882) Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties Fariss & Smith ISBN   9783385476141 p290
5. Hutchings (1856) Onion Valley and Pilot Peak Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine v1 #5 p194
6. "Snow Shoeing" Daily National Democrat Vol 6 #50:3 (10 Apr 1861)
7. Pioneer Ski Area of America Historical Landmark California State Parks
8. Herson House Hotel, 1880 Calisphere
9. Gudde, E. (2009) California Gold Camps University of California Press ISBN   9780520261440 pp106, 251–252
10. Snowy View of Onion Valley, 1905 Calisphere
11. Onion Valley, 1953 Calisphere