This was an interesting question posed, though like many there is no simple answer. So I will do this in installments over the next few months.

When the Noble’s Emigrant Trail opened up the Honey Lake Valley, one would thought may be some of the travelers would stop. After all there a number of diary entries when the emigrants first saw the Honey Lake Valley it was a wondrous site with fresh water, grass, pine forests after having traversed endless miles across the Nevada desert. That was not case, whether the area was too remote or they had other plans.

Needless to say it was gold that brought the first wave of settlers. However, when they arrived, they had already been in California. After all it was Peter Lassen who in 1855 brought the first group to the Honey Lake Valley with their discovery gold near the place where he would later be buried. Lassen was a native of Denmark, and came to California in 1840. By 1851 after having failed at several business ventures Lassen had settled at nearby Indian Valley. In 1850, he first came into the Honey Lake Valley in search of the fabled Gold Lake. Lassen not satisfied with his initial gold discovery in the valley continued with prospecting ventures the last one in the Black Rock Desert in 1859 that was a fatal mistake.

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