Cone Lake is situated in far western Lassen County, next to the Caribou Wilderness. In 1850, Joseph Spencer Cone (1822-1894), a native of Ohio, came to California, arriving in Tehama County in 1857. Originally, Cone was a cattle rancher who sold beef to the Nome Lacke Indian Reservation. When that enterprise failed, Cone turned to raising sheep and continued with that endeavor for the remainder of his life. In the early 1870s, Cone, like of many Tehama outfits, incorporated western Lassen County for grazing stock during the summer. It took nine days for the Cone outfit to herd some 20,000 head of sheep from Paynes Creek, Tehama County to Harvey Valley, Lassen County. At the time of his death, Cone owned nearly 100,000 acres of land—4,636 of these acres were located in Lassen County. The Lassen County property remained in family ownership until November 10, 1934, when Marie Cone sold to the Lyon Cattle Company. Marie Cone had disposed of some parcels earlier to the Red River Lumber Company. One of Cone’s legacies was his impact on the geographical names of western Lassen County. Cone’s many sheep herders filed rights to strategic springs and grazing lands—Logan Mountain, Pat Morris Spring, Norvell Flat and Puls Camp, to name a few.