How and why it was so named, I do not know. The earliest reference to it being referred to as Pikes Point was in 1920. Anyhow, I thought some people would like to see the difference from Eagle Lake’s high and low water levels, though from two different angles. By they way, most people identify the site as the Eagle Lake Marina at the south shore of the lake.

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In late April, 1899 L.S. Greenlaw, special correspodent to the Reno Gazette traveled north to Lassen and Modoc to search out the conditions. There was, after all, a lot of interest being generated with the NCO Railroad’s extending its line north from Amedee to the Madeline Plains.

The following is an excerpt of one of his observations. “Valley of Eagle Lake. One would scarcely expect to see fine farms and fine farm houses in such a place. On the eastern shore are large grain fields and grassy meadows. We pass nearly halfway around this beautiful body of water and when we were driving along its northern shore the road is so near the lake that when the wind blows as it did that day white spray is blown into the buggy. Some of the finest trout are caught from this lake.”

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On May 4, 1961, the Stone family sold their Eagle Lake ranch to the Five Dot Land & Cattle Company. They did retain ownership of their shoreline property on the northwest end of the lake. In October 1961 they began subdividing property into 244 lots.

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For a sixty-year period the Lassen County Superior Court routinely dealt with law suits involving Eagle Lake issues. Of course, the majority of these involved the various enterprises to tap the lake for irrigation. In the late 1920s, court filings were numerous as the local banks filed on foreclosures of the numerous ranchers of the Tule & Baxter Creek Irrigation Districts who defaulted on their loans on the failed Bly Tunnel.

It was in 1932 that witnessed an unusual lawsuit filed by Malvena Gallatin and James Fritter, both Eagle Lake property owners. Malvena was the leading figure and to give credence brought in Eagle Lake resident Fritter. In the complaint it alleged the districts were wasting Eagle Lake water, due to the leakage at the tunnel during the non-irrigation season. It was their contention that fifty percent of the winter run-off was lost through the tunnel, since the districts did not have properly installed head gates. Malvena stressed the recreational value of the lake would depreciate dramatically if the districts continued to waste the lake water.

Not divulged was Malvena had an ulterior motive. She had entered into agreement to sell her Eagle Lake property to a group who had plans to develop a million dollar resort at the lake, whereby Malvena would receive $500,000. A stipulation to the sale was that she had to guarantee that the districts would not lower the lake any further. She did not succeed. The litigation dragged on and the lake level dropped even more. When the judgement was entered on April 17, 1936, she had already lost her option to sell her property. In addition, she lost the case. The court cited that both Gallatin and Fritter had entered into agreements with Leon Bly that allowed the irrigation system to draw forty feet below the 1917 level of the lake, and when they commenced the action the lake level had only dropped twenty-four feet.

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