Names of places changed quickly when the gold seekers rushed into Honey Lake Valley. This stream was a prime example. It was first called Commanche Creek, then Irishman’s Creek, and, in 1860, became known as Lakes Creek. Sometime in the early 1860s, it finally became Baxter Creek named for John Baxter (1812-1880), a native of Dundee, Scotland, who came to California in 1849 and to Honey Lake Valley in 1857. Baxter located along the lower end of the creek, about a mile east of Buntingville. On May 27, 1867, Baxter, with his partner, Edward Bartlett, sold this property to Robert C. Hayden for $3,750. This sale led to a fatal mistake for both Hayden and Bartlett.