Located at the southwest corner of the lake, was an informal campground known as the Circus Grounds. During the early 1920s the big three lumber companies held a summer water carnival at Sunkist Lodge. The event drew thousands and this location became the overflow for campers. In the early 1960s, the forest service developed three campgrounds at the south shore—Aspen Grove, Eagle and Merrill. While the Circus Grounds, located on forest service property, was allowed to continue on, it having been a popular spot with the locals since the 1920s. By the 1970s, the writing was on the wall so to speak, and forest service converted the site as today’s Christie Campground.

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In 1928, the Tule & Baxter Creek Irrigation Districts brought in yet another engineer to examine the Bly Tunnel, with a special emphasis on the inlet channel. Of course, they did like what they were told that it would take at least $100,000 to fix the problem, and it might only extend the life of the project by ten years. The Districts continued on with annual blasting through solid rock to deepen the channel. This exercise in futility finally ended in 1935 when they conceded.

Should you ever have the opportunity, it is well worth the visit to see the inlet channel. While I took this photograph August 9, 2018, it does not do it justice of the solid rock encountered. It also means, I either need a better camera, improve my photography skills or both!

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Since it is December, I am busy filing and/or cataloging items in anticipation for a fresh start with a new year approaching. I came across the above photograph on an old trip to Tunnel Works No. 2 of the Eagle Lake Land & Irrigation Company. While the short-lived company only existed from 1891-1894, it did accomplish a lot.  While they knew it would take a very long time to complete the tunnel that Merrill had begun a decade earlier, they had a vision to provide necessary funds. They installed a pumping plant to pump water out of the lake, and sent water to the east side of the Honey Lake Valley. Thus, they were able to sell water for the 1893 irrigation season, while work continued on the tunnel. However, by the fall of 1893 with nation’s financial panic in full force, they were unable to sustain operations and went bankrupt.

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In 1871, Hayden Hill postmaster, A.W. Blair was the first person to conceive the idea to tap Eagle Lake to irrigate the sagebrush lands of Honey Lake Valley.  Nearly fifty years later, it was Leon Bly, who finally succeeded in building a tunnel where others had failed. In 1923, the mile and a half long tunnel, costing $975,000 was completed as far as Bly and the contractors were concerned. However, the contractor only put in a cut of three feet below the surface at the intake, instead of eight feet. From that time on the tunnel was plagued with problems. In 1973, the Bureau of Land Management revoked the right-of-way for the tunnel and deemed it a safety hazard. Using tailings from the tunnel construction, they put a temporary plug to the tunnel. Finally, on November 26, 1986 the BLM hired Western Roads, Inc., to place a permanent concrete plug at the tunnel’s inlet.

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In the mid-1950s, the Lassen National Forest Service inconjunction with Lassen County officials began the planning process to make improvements at the south shore of Eagle Lake, since it still remained in its primitive state. One of the top priorities was the development of a marina near Gallatin Beach. The county leased the property from the forest service and in 1961 completed the marina. The following year, the county sub-leased the operation to Richard Gentry. In 1970, due to the rising level of the lake, the boat harbor was revamped. Upon completion it was named the William W. White boat harbor, for former Lassen County Planning Commissioner who was an ardent supporter of the project.

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Sunday, August 26, 1956 was a historic day in transportation circles. At Colley Point, overlooking Eagle Lake, witnessed the dedication of Lassen-Modoc Joint Highway #14. The project began in 1929, with the goal of a highway from Susanville to the Oregon border near Malin. Over the span of time, sixteen different public and private entities were involved with the construction of the highway. At center stage during the ceremony, a great deal of credit was given to Pete Gerig, one of the original directors who was committed to see it from beginning to end. In December 1959, the route became State Highway 139.

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