Once you pass Eagle Lake north on Highway 139, the next broad expanse you see to your right is Grasshopper Valley. When intrepid explorer J. Goldsborough Bruff in 1850 noted it was lake, who later in 1876 stated it had to be what was later Eagle Lake. In wet years, the lower portion of the valley is flooded, and back in Bruff’s day especially so, since there were no dams at Said Valley or Slate Creek, so even a greater flow of water in the basin.
In 1899, the Reno Evening Gazette stated it was named for the great number of grasshoppers found there when it was first settled. In the 1880s, James W. Shanklin, who had great plans for Grasshopper, found the name offensive. On November 2, 1889, Shanklin wrote to the Lassen County Board of Supervisors and requested the name be changed to Belle Valley: “Sirs: At the request of the settlers and owners of land in Grasshopper Valley I petition your Honorable Board to pass an order changing the name of this Valley from Grasshopper to Belle. The name Grasshopper carries with it an impression at once injurious and detrimental to the best interest of the place and of all concerned at the place. Besides it gives an erroneous opinion of the place as it is not subject to the invasions of grasshoppers any more than many other valleys in the County. “What’s in a name” is an old question frequently asked, and in our case we feel that it is more than we care to carry and therefore invoke your aid in removing it. In our opinion the valley is beautiful enough to have a better name and one more significant of its appearance and therefore request you to rechristian it and call it Belle Valley.” The Board rejected Shanklin’s request for lack of jurisdiction.