There were three communities on the Madeline Plains, Madeline, Ravendale and Termo. All three owed their existence to the Nevada California Oregon Railroad, which the arrived on the plains in 1899 and created Termo and a few years later Madeline.

It was reported that the end of February 1910,  that a new NCO station was rapidly being built five miles south of Termo. Dame rumor had it that it was to become a division point for the NCO railroad.  It was also stated that J.H. Williams and G. Horton were surveying a town plat.

So much for speculation. William B. Edwards, locally known as Uncle Billy had formed the Western Land & Power Company to entice homesteaders to eastern Madeline Plains. The best stopping off point was the homestead of Jim and Laura Coe. They agreed to subdivide their land, and the NCO also agreed to establish a station there.  On November 15, 1913, the official town plat of Ravendale, was recorded with the Lassen County Recorder. According to Madeline Plains historian, Don Garate, the name Coeville had been suggested for the new town, but Laura Coe already chosen a name—Ravendale. Why she chose that name is not clear.

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