Bass Lake

100 years ago Bass Lake was not a lake at all, but a lush meadow surrounded by pine tree covered hills and mountains. Mono Indians inhabited the area for centuries before a detachment of the Mariposa Battalion came across the valley in 1851 shortly after their discovery of Yosemite Valley. After observing flocks of what they thought were Sandhill Cranes, they decided to name the large meadow area Crane Valley. The large grey-blue birds were actually Great Blue Herons which still populate the area.

Through Crane Valley flowed Willow Creek, a tributary of the San Joaquin River. In 1895, a plan was devised to use the waters of Willow Creek to generate hydroelectric power for residents of the great San Joaquin Valley.

The San Joaquin Electric Company was formed and the first earthen dam was built in Crane Valley in 1901. Mule-drawn freight wagons carried machinery and supplies up the mountain and went down loaded with timber that had been cleared from the reservoir site.

What seemed to be a good project fell into ruin because of the work of a rival company. When the electric power from the plant was brought to Fresno, the owner of a rival gas company purchased land and water rights upstream from the hydro plant. The water was diverted onto a barren hillside so it did not reach the power house. This problem, along with the dry summer months, forced the San Joaquin Electric Company in bankruptcy.

In 1902 the San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation was formed to purchase the electric company and later the electric operations of the rival gas company. The dam was enlarged in 1905 and the present dam was built in 1910 (145 feet high).