Baldwin Lake, California
Encyclopedia
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
, in San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
. The depth of Baldwin Lake's lowest point is approximately 25 feet (7.6 meters). At its widest, the lake is more than a mile across. Chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
grows on the surrounding terrain.
Baldwin Lake is part of the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve.
Namesake
Benjamin Davis Wilson encountered the lake in 1845, while tracking horse thievesHorse thief
-United States:The term horse thief came into great popularity in the U.S. during the 19th century. During that time the Great Plains states, Texas, and other western states were sparsely populated and negligibly policed. As farmers tilled the land and migrants headed west through the Great...
in the San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
. When Wilson saw that the region was populated by many grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
s, he divided his 22 men into hunting partners. The men slaughtered 11 bears for the fur pelts. While returning to Jurupa (Riverside), they slaughtered another 11 bears for the fur. Wilson named the region Big Bear Valley, and the lake he called Lake Big Bear.
In 1884, the Bear Valley Land and Water Company began construction of a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
southwest of the lake. The company's stakeholders named the new reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. At a surface elevation of , it has an east-west length of approximately 7 miles and is approximately 2.5 miles at its widest measurement, though the lake's width mostly averages a...
. They also renamed the alkali lake to Baldwin Lake, after Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin
Lucky Baldwin
Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin was a prominent California businessman and investor of the second half of the 19th century.-Biography:...
, who came to Big Bear and Holcomb Valley
Holcomb Valley
Holcomb Valley, located in the San Bernardino Mountains about five miles north of Big Bear Lake, was the site of the most gold mined in Southern California. It was named after William F. Holcomb, who discovered gold there in 1860. That year started the largest gold rush in Southern California to...
in 1876 when he purchased Gold Mountain Mine (later renamed Baldwin Mine).
Community Improvement Association
In January of 2011, the Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association was formed which is a non-profit volunteer organization of residents, business and property owners in Baldwin Lake, California who share a common appreciation for the beauty and diversity of Baldwin Lake.The mission is to improve, beautify and preserve the quality of life in Baldwin Lake through the development of outdoor environmental education programs, community gardens, and a small business incubator to create a sustainable future for the residents of Baldwin Lake.