22 August 2004
(Updated - 29 August 2004)
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Serrano Indians were the first occupants of Big Bear Valley approximately 3,000 years ago. The Name "Serrano" is Spanish for mountaineer. The Indians called themselves "Yuharetum," or "people of the pines." The Serrano were a very strong and self-sufficient people and acclimated well to life at a high altitude. They lived off the land by combining hunting and foraging. They went after game such as deer and rabbit. And gathered pine nuts and acorns.
In 1845, while in pursuit of Indians, Benjamin D. Wilson discovered and named Bear Valley because as he said, "the place was alive with bears!" In 1860 William Holcomb was hunting bear and discovered gold instead. What followed was Southern California's largest gold rush.
Big Bear's first dam, completed in 1884, was soon followed by the Valley's first hotel in 1888. In 1949 the first ski resort opened.
On a cold spring morning in 1883, with fresh snow still on the ground, Frank
Elwood Brown rode into Big Bear valley looking for a reliable source of water
for Redlands citrus farmers. As he explored the valley, he knew his search was
over. Returning to Redlands, he organized a group of wealthy Redlands farmers
and formed the "Bear Valley Land and Water Co." They immediately began buying
up land and water rights in Bear Valley. Construction started in July. Because
of financial considerations, it was decided that a single arch rock dam would
be built, instead of a conventional gravity dam. Granite blocks, weighing two
to three tons each, would be cut from the surrounding hillsides by hand,
without the use of explosives, to be used as construction material. The winter
snows of 1883 brought construction to a halt.
In June of 1884 work commenced again, and by that November, the dam reached its final height of 52 feet. The rock dam was only 20 feet wide at the bottom and 3 feet wide at the top. There was a very real concern as to whether or not a dam this thin could hold back the enormous pressure of a five mile long lake. Its strength would come from the design and shape of its arch. The workers went home for the winter. As soon as possible, Brown rode into Bear Valley the following spring. He was greeted by the sight of a new lake where lush green meadows and tall pine forests had sat, just one year earlier. The next year, on July 10, 1885, the floodgates were opened and water started flowing down Bear Creek to grateful Redlands farmers. The new lake drowned over 9,000 trees, but Frank Brown had created the largest man made lake in the world, at a cost of $75,000. The narrow dam was safe and would continue to hold strong for over 20 years. Located 50 yards east of
the current dam, it still stands today, usually under about 20 feet of water.
 1884-00-00-001 - Rock Dam Under Construction - Big Bear Lake 529 X 324 56 KB |
 1884-00-00-002 - Rock Dam Under Construction - Big Bear Lake 160 X 250 15 KB |
 1885-00-00-001 - Rock Dam Finished - Big Bear Lake 493 X 324 49 KB |
 1911-00-00-001 - Eastwood Dam Under Construction - Big Bear Lake 552 X 350 131 KB |
 1911-00-00-002 - Eastwood Dam Under Construction - Big Bear Lake 567 X 324 54 KB |
 1915-00-00-001 - Eastwood Dam - Big Bear Lake 543 X 341 43 KB |
 1930-00-00-001 - Eastwood Dam With Bridge - Big Bear Lake 524 X 324 58 KB |
 1940-00-00-001 - Eastwood Dam With Bridge - Big Bear Lake 526 X 324 48 KB |
The following pictures are the low-resolution versions. For the high-resolution versions: Click here
Many of the below pictures refer to fire damage. This occurred from the large Big Bear Fire in October 2003. The first link is a satellite view of the fires that month.
 2003-10-00-001 - Satellite View Of California Fires - LowRes 495 X 640 113 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11662 - Fire Damage - San Bernadino Mountains - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 119 KB |
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 2004-08-22-DSC11663 - Fire Damage - San Bernadino Mountains - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 91 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11664 - Valley View - San Bernadino Mountains - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 142 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11665 - San Bernadino Mountains - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 145 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11666 - San Bernadino Mountains - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 92 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11667 - Snow Plow Warning - Running Springs - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 169 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11668 - Running Springs - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 115 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11669 - Lakeview Point - 7112 Feet - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 152 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11670 - Lakeview Point - 7112 Feet - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 120 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11671 - Lakeview Point - 7112 Feet - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 187 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11672 - Wildflowers - Lakeview Point - 7112 Feet - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 200 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11673 - Old Bear Valley Dam - Plaque - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 154 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11674 - Eastwood Dam - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 126 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11675 - Location Of Rock Wall Dam - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 139 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11676 - Near Dam - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 120 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11677 - Big Bear Valley - Below Eastwood Dam - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 182 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11678 - Spillway & Gates - Eastwood Dam - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 184 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11679 - Big Bear Valley - Below Eastwood Dam - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 197 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11680 - Big Bear Discovery Center - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 116 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11681 - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 144 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11682 - Big Bear Lake - West Boat Ramp - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 98 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11682-11684 - Big Bear Lake - West Boat Ramp - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 639 X 183 38 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11683 - Big Bear Lake - West Boat Ramp - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 105 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11684 - Big Bear Lake - West Boat Ramp - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 116 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11685 - Big Bear Lake - West Boat Ramp - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 119 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11686 - Lizard - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 207 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11686a - Lizard - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 639 X 288 122 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11687 - Lizard - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 183 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11687a - Lizard - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 334 121 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11688 - Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 135 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11689 - Fire Damage - Switzer Park - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 135 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11690 - Fire Damage - Switzer Park - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 215 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11691 - Fire Damage - Switzer Park - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 191 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11692 - Fire Damage - Switzer Park - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 183 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11693 - Fire Damage - Switzer Park - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 200 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11694 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 107 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11695 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 95 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11696 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 184 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11697 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 167 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11698 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 135 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11699 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 160 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11700 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 107 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11701 - Communications Station - Burnt Forest - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 107 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11702 - Red Rock Wall - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 85 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11703 - Lindsey Hughes - Red Rock Wall - Rim Of The World Highway - LowRes 640 X 480 97 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11703a - Lindsey Hughes - Red Rock Wall - Rim Of The World Highway - LowRes 280 X 640 74 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11704 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 93 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11704-11708 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 638 X 152 24 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11705 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 92 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11706 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 85 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11707 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 57 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11708 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 73 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11709 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 124 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11710 - Fire Damage - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 105 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11711 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 76 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11712 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 139 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11713 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 83 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11714 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 111 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11715 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 105 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11716 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 46 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11717 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 143 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11718 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 66 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11719 - Hang Gliders - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 47 KB |
 2004-08-22-DSC11720 - Rim Of The World Highway - Big Bear Trip - LowRes 640 X 480 103 KB |
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