Long before Lake Almanor was conceived Big Springs and Hamilton Branch were popular camping/fishing spots at the then Big Meadows. A portion of that would change in the early 1900s when Great Western Power Company began land acquisition there. The company issued a statement that all camping and/or recreational activities were prohibited on their land, though initially permits could be obtained That is a story for another time.
When the first phase of the construction of Lake Almanor was completed in 1914, a great deal of the activity was logging by the Red River Lumber Company who had a contract to remove the standing timber from the reservoir. One of Red River’s earliest and best known logging camps, was Camp 14 located near Hamilton Branch.
In 1923, J.N. Boshoff contacted Red River officials about converting a portion of abandoned Camp 32 at Hamilton Branch into a little resort. Red River agreed, seeing it as an opportunity to provide recreational opportunities for its employees and their families. Boshoff then converted some of the cabins at Camp 32 into bath houses for changing and others into overnight sleeping accommodations. He dubbed his new enterprise Hamilton Park. Boshoff leased the property from Red River for the next fourteen years. Hamilton Park eventually became known as Lassen View Resort.