What’s Under The Lake?

As drought lowers the levels of man made reservoirs all over California amazing things have been popping up in the dry lakebeds. At Folsom Lake the remains of the settlements at Salmon Falls and Mormon Island are visible and at Shasta Lake bridges, train trestles and tunnels will emerge from the depths as waters recede. That got me to thinking on a Mendocino County level and I started digging into another History Mystery I’ll call “What’s Under the Lake?”

Before there was a Lake Mendocino and a Lake Pillsbury (and yes, I know, Pillsbury is over the county line in Lake County) there were villages and people in a wide valley. People lived in contentment on farms and ranches, had a local general store, school, church and post office, and then somebody out to make a quick buck said “Hey, I got this great idea! Let’s build a dam and sell water!”

Lake Pillsbury’s story begins in 1904 when Ukiah residents wanted electrical service 24/7 and a financier named W.W. Van Arsdale formed Eel River Power and Irrigation Co. A diversion dam was started on the Eel River and a mile long tunnel was begun to bring the water through a mountain and into the Russian River drainage. A powerhouse in Potter Valley would provide electricity for Ukiah and irrigation water would be sold. Potter Valley was famous for its watermelons at this time.

Who owned the land needed for this dam and reservoir? Mr. Van Arsdale of course, and today Cape Horn dam impounds Van Arsdale Reservoir and 7.3% of the Eel River watershed (289 sq. miles) is diverted through the eight foot wide tunnel to supplement the Russian River. A new bigger entity, Snow Mountain Water and Power, took over in 1906 and soon the dam, reservoir, turbine generated powerhouse, and Power House Canal into Potter Valley were done.

But wait! This set-up only worked from fall into spring when waters ran high. What was needed was an even bigger lake to run the powerhouse year round. The happy folks living in the Gravelly Valley and the village of Hullville began to see life change. Gravelly Valley was, indeed, full of gravel but that didn’t stop Yuki Indians from catching steelhead and gathering basket-making willows there. Elk liked to roll in the mud along the river so it was an excellent native hunting grounds.

James Hull was an early settler before a grizzly bear killed him in 1856. His name was attached to a mountain and a town. The town featured Hunter’s Hotel, a blacksmith, a carpenter’s shop, school, post office and a store. Cattlemen lived in the surrounding lowlands and ran their cattle in the hills. Other folks grazed sheep on Hull Mountain. One local dried deer hides and venison jerky and packed it to the Napa Valley to sell at 50 cents a pound for hides and 25 cents a pound for jerky. He returned to Hullville with onions. Life was good until Snow Mountain Water and Power started buying up the valley and tearing down the town.

Hullville was ¾ mile north of today’s Scott Dam on the north side of the Eel River where Big Squaw Creek enters the lake. In a normal year it is 125’ below the surface of the water. A land feature now called Graveyard Point speaks to where folks in Hullville buried their dead. The coffins were moved to the Upper Lake Cemetery to plots purchased by the power company.

All the Ponderosa Pine in the valley was sawed up in a sawmill built for no other reason than to create lumber to frame the dam. Scott Dam is 96’ high, 515’ long , 10’ thick and it is the oldest combined concrete and earth filled dam still functioning in the state. Built in 1920 the lake was filled by 1922. Bye bye Hullsville. The names Scott and Pillsbury recognize the principle financial investors in these activities. PG&E took over the operation in 1930 including Van Arsdale Reservoir and the Potter Valley project.

And Lake Mendocino? That was a settled area of farms and ranches called Coyote Valley. People grew grapes, hay, grain, hops, apples and alfalfa. Local dairyman milked cows and made cheese and sheep grazed. There were three small schools and a gristmill there. Shodokai Pomo Indians had inhabited the valley for a long, long time.

By 1950 the powers that be decided flood control and recreation would be a great reason to buy out all the land owners, flatten the landscape, spend $6 million and build six million cubic yard earth and rock dam covered with 53,000 tons of concrete and reinforced with 1,400 tons of steel. And, by the way, due to the financing Sonoma County gets most of the water. So that’s what’s under those lakes.

Out of curiosity I wondered if Blue Lakes along Highway 20 between Ukiah and Clear Lake were man made or natural? Well, there’s nothing under Blue Lakes that Mother Nature didn’t put there. Upper Blue Lake is 650’ wide, 180’ deep and 1.2 miles long. Lower Blue Lake is only 6/10 mile long and 25’ deep. A few thousand years ago Mt. Konocti erupted and closed off Cache Creek, the traditional outlet of Clear Lake. The lake overflowed down Clear Creek Canyon to the northwest and dropped the lake level 60’. A few centuries ago a landslide on the slope of Cow Mountain filled up the Clear Creek gorge and backed up the waters to fill Blue Lakes.

To end this History Mystery I’d like to suggest a kid’s picture book. I found it a heartbreakingly sad story. “Letting Swift River Go” is by Jane Yolen and tells the story of a young girl growing up in the safety and comfort of the Swift River Valley of Massachusetts. Then her town is flooded to supply drinking water for Boston 60 miles away and becomes Quabbin Reservoir. The book is a fine lesson in letting go of things we can’t control. Find it in the library or a local independent bookshop.