Big Bear Lake around 1904
Big Bear Lake around 1904
History of Big Bear Valley
In the summer of 1845, Benito David Wilson, grandfather of General George S. Patton, led a group of twenty-two soldiers in the San Bernardino Mountains in pursuit of a renegade band of Indians. On the evening of the second day, they discovered a large valley and beautiful meadowland, literally on top of the mountains, to which they gave the name Bear Valley. The whole area was alive with bears, and Benito Wilson tells in his writings how this group of soldiers divided into pairs and went out and lassoed eleven fine specimens.
In the years that followed, a few hunters and an occasional prospector visited the valley from time to time. Fourteen years later, a seasoned miner from the northern camps by the name of William F. Holcomb, appeared on the scene. Little did he realize at the time that he was destined to play an important part in the history of the whole area for years to come. His remarkable story, published in the early 1900’s in Ingersoll’s History of the San Bernardino County, is as follows:
In the fall of 1859 I reached Los Angeles. Here I met an old mountaineer who told me of a valley about one hundred miles to the east which was known as “Bear Valley” on account of the number of bear seen there. I determined to visit this valley and my friend, Jack Martin, decided to accompany me. We procured horses and supplying ourselves with a little flour, bacon and salt, started. The first day out, we could hear nothing of the place, but the second night we camped on Lytle Creek near the ranch of George Lord. He directed us to San Bernardino, a place which I think I had never before heard of. Here we were told to go up the canyon and we would find an old settled, F. M. Van Leuven –Uncle Fred as he was known –who could tell us how to reach Bear Valley. We went up the Santa Ana Canyon and Mr. Van Leuven gave us all the information he could about the route and told us that a party was already up there.
We started on, following a trail of burros. The second day we reached the summit and found deep snow, so deep that our horses had great difficulty in floundering through. By good luck we ran across the company who were camped here and they received us kindly –pioneer fashion. They had found a little gold but not in paying quantity. Martin and myself made camp near this group of men and began prospecting. Days and weeks rolled by and still we prospected here and there, with no success.
Martin at length decided to abandon the attempt and return to his family in Los Angeles. I was determined to stay until the bear came out. As yet we had killed nothing but deer and small game. On the day before his departure we strolled up to the top of a little hill, I said to Martin, “We have prospected every likely place we have seen in the valley, now let us try this hillside where we are sure there is no gold.” He objected, but I insisted and shoveled up a pan of dirt off the naked bedrock, pine leaves and all. Martin took it to the foot of the hill to wash out while I sat down and waited. Presently I noticed that he seemed excited and he came rushing up the hill to exhibit about ten cents’ worth of gold. We kept on working till dark and we were convinced that at last we had struck “pay diggings.” The next day we began to work with a rocker and found that we could make about five dollars each per day.
After a few days, Martin left for Los Angeles to bring up provisions and also to bring his family back with him. He exhibited some of the gold dust in San Bernardino. This raised quite an excitement. When he got to Los Angeles and paid for a considerable bill of goods with gold dust, there was a stir. People at once began to rush to Bear Valley.
View of Big Bear Lake around 1904.
About this time I took my gun and strolled northward to look over the country. When I reached the summit of the ridge that divides the headwaters of the Santa Ana and the Mojave, I looked down from this eminence in a northerly direction and saw about two miles distant, a beautiful little valley. In camp that night I told the boys of the discovery I had made and one of the men –Jim Ware –at once offered to go with me and explore “Holcomb’s Valley” as they jokingly called it.
