In 1867, Luther Wellington “Wells” Bunnell relocated from Butt Valley in Plumas to nearby Big Meadows, known today as Lake Almanor. One of his distant neighbors was Dr. Willard Pratt, who opened the first hotel in Big Meadows which was met with great success. After all, those who could escape ever so briefly in the summer months from the Sacramento Valley, flocked to places like Big Meadows to escape the heat, after all this pre-air conditioner times.
For thirty-eight years Bunnells became a well known resort. Changes were on the horizon, especially with the Great Western Power Company who had entered the picture in 1901 with plans to transform Big Meadows into a massive reservoir as part of its hydroelectric power system. On April 11, 1906, Bunnell entered into an agreement to sell his place for to Great Western Power for $35,000. He moved to Susanville the following year and for a brief time the power company used the resort, now closed to the public as their headquarters. With the dam nearing completion and the flooding of Big Meadows to become a reality, on the evening of June 6, 1914 all the buildings at Bunnells were set ablaze for demolition.
