In 1944, the Fleming Ranch adjoining Honey Lake was sold to the State of California and converted into the Fleming Unit, Wildlife Refuge, which the State had also acquired the nearby Dakin ranch.
In 1890, John James Fleming (1871-1941), a native of Scotland, came to the United States to Modoc County where he engaged in the sheep business. On October 5, 1910, John J. and his wife, Ora Lee (Moulton) Fleming, purchased the Honey Lake ranch from D. Grant and Edith Beale for $1,000. Fleming, along with his brother Robert, purchased extensive land holdings throughout Lassen County—in 1924, they purchased the Stanford Summer Range that consisted of 1,900 acres. In 1942, Ora Lee Fleming, then a widow, and Robert Fleming began the liquidation of their vast holdings—35,000 acres of rangeland and 6,000 acres of farmland.