History of Incline Village, Nevada

 

 

Developers and the business of real estate at Lake Tahoe is a relatively new phenomenon compared with the 9,000 years and more than 400 generations the Washo tribe settled at camps at Incline Village, Spooner Lake and Skunk Harbor. 

For many years, summers meant creating conical shaped homes from cedar bark that would last long enough for the summer's fishing and hunting season to replenish the food supply and provide skins for clothing. 

John C. Fremont was the first European explorer to record the sighting of Lake Tahoe, in Feb. 1844. His exploration party was guided by the legendary Kit Carson. Lake Tahoe became a bustling center of commerce in the 1860s during the height of silver mining in Virginia City. The Central Pacific Railroad extended to Truckee. 

In the summer of 1873, Walter Scott Hobert had established the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Co. In September 1880 and by October, he had completed a stream-powered sawmill half a mile from the lake in the area known now as Millcreek. By fall, 1897, Incline Village was nothing but stripped forest land.

George Whittell purchase in the 1930s of 44,000 acres of Nevada land ensured that Tahoe's north shore would not become a commercial wasteland. 

The first influx of settlers made their homes at Crystal Bay in the 1860s. The Ta-Neva-Ho (now the Cal-Neva) Crystal Bay's first casino, was built in 1927 by developer Bob Sherman. In 1946 Joseph Blumenfeld built the Tahoe Biltmore Hotel.

The Crystal Bay Development Co. took off after the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. Ray Plunkett, along with Harold Tiller, Arthur Wood and Matt McCoskey, principal owner of the Cal-Neva, took over ownership when current owner Frank Sinatra lost his gaming license because of a mob connection. 

Incline Village was formed in about 1960, and since then, land has been built to capacity, leaving few build able lots remaining at the turn of the 21st century.

Physical Environment

Lake Tahoe is located on the California/Nevada border, 198 miles northeast of San Francisco, 98 miles east of Sacramento and 58 miles southwest of Reno, Nevada. The Lake Tahoe Basin, that area defined along the crest of the Sierra Nevada and the Carson Range, covers 482 square miles.

Lake Environment

Tahoe's waters are among the purest in the world at 99.7% pure. A white dinner plate can be seen 120 feet below the surface with little trouble. The Lake never freezes over due to the constant movement of water from the bottom to the surface. This "turnover" allows an enormous mass movement of water, and keeps the lake ice free. However, ice may form at times along the shoreline in small protected inlets. During the summer, the upper 12 feet forms a layer that can warm to 68 degrees F., but below depths of 700 feet during the winter the temperature remains a constant 39 degrees F.

Climate

The sunshine probability for the Basin is 84%, with at least 300 days of sun per year. Lake Tahoe gets an average of 215.4 inches of snowfall, or a little under 18 feet. Upper elevations can get between 300 and 500 inches per year. Winds are generally mild, 10-15 mph, out of the west and northwest. During storm periods they can average 25-35 mph. Sweaters and jackets are almost always necessary in the evenings. Winter means heavy jackets and warm boots and clothes, while summer days can be spent in shorts and t-shirts.

Population

In 1950 there were 2,500 permanent residents in the Lake Tahoe Basin. By 1999 that number had risen to 52,570 with 14,734 in Nevada. Some of the larger communities in Tahoe's High Sierra include:

Tahoe City
South Lake Tahoe ~ 23,609
Zephyr Cove
Incline Village ~ 9,952

Elevation

The Tahoe Basin is at an elevation of 6,240 feet (1,901 meters) above mean sea level. On the west side of the Lake, the Sierra rises from elevations of 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) to 11,000 feet (3,352 meters) and to the east, mountains reach 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) to 7,000 feet (2,133 meters)