In 1876, William S. Davis purchased the Hazzard Webster place at the north end of Eagle Lake—known to many as the old Stone Ranch. Davis made numerous improvements to the property, including the construction of a two-story house, as the place served as stage stop for travelers along this route.

In 1878, his thirteen-year-old nephew, Frank Davis spent the summer at Eagle Lake. In his memoirs he wrote:  “I like to remember my first look at Eagle Lake when I went by stage to visit Uncle Will. As we came up out of the valley, the stage coach crossed a little ridge and started downgrade to the lake. There is suddenly was, all spread out before us! The lake was covered with whitecaps because it was in the afternoon, and there was a great white cloud covering the hillside from the top and drifting down to the edge of the lake. ‘See the goats are coming in for the night,’ said Uncle Will with a sweeping gesture.

“I looked again and discovered the great white cloud that blended the scene from the clouds in the sky above to the margin of the lake and seemed to blend with the white-capped surface of the water was actually about 2700 head of white Angora goats. Uncle was raising them for their silky hair, which was in much demand for the fine fur felt used in quality hats, and woven fabrics.”

”The ranch house had originally been a log cabin when Uncle Will first bought it. He made it a complete two-story building, adding more rooms, plastering the interior rooms and covering the outside with bevelled siding. Made quite a pretty place by the time he finished it.”

After Davis sold he moved to Susanville. A for a time he was in charge of the bar and office of the Steward House. He remained in Susanville and died in 1908.

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In 1971, Susanville dentist, Robert “Bob” Amesbury had a book published about Eagle Lake. In the book’s dedication is to the pioneers there, which he includes Alfred Murrer. On page six Amesbury wrote about the lake level. He includes this sentence, “The narrows was shallow enough during the 1940’s to permit Alfred Murrer to swim his horse across.”

There is a slight problem. The east side of the lake that Amesbury refers is quite rocky, one would have problem with that condition with a horse. Even if you and the horse could overcome that, once you reached the other side, the horse would sink in a muck of. mud/water combination.

I do have some inside scoop about this. Amesbury never approached Alfred Murrer, or any Murrer family about his research of Eagle Lake. While the Murrers resided and still do in Willow Creek Valley, events at the lake were front center. After all, the two tunnel outlets are adjacent to Murrer property, among other things. The reason I happen to have first hand knowledge about this   Amesbury tale about Alfred Murrer, stems from the fact I knew Alfred well—he being my grandmother Lola Murrer Tanner’s youngest brother.

Fast forward to 1988, when my book on Eagle Lake was published. That summer, by chance, I encountered Bob at The Galley, a bar and restaurant at the north shore of Eagle Lake. Bob congratulated me on my book and then stated, “You have all the facts, I had all the bullshit.”

Tim