UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Beautiful Upper Lake, California is situated eight miles north of Lakeport and stands at an elevation of 1,345 feet.

Upper Lake is also known as “The Gateway to the Mendocino National Forest.”

This quiet town was established in 1854. By around 1881 there were 150 people in the township of Upper Lake.

If you view photographs from the 1800s on the Lake County Historical Society's Web site, you will see the fine shops that once made up the town, including pharmacies, grocery, dry goods, saloons, hardware shops and more.

Upper Lake's Tallman Hotel is a stately Upper Lake landmark. It was constructed in about 1874, but sadly burned down in 1895.

It wasn't long before it was rebuilt, as there was an imminent need for lodging, since Upper Lake was a popular stage stop.

Rufus Tallman, the hotel's proprietor, hailed from New York. Rufus first entered California to mine gold, arriving via the difficult Panama Route.

In 1861 he found his bride-to-be, Mary Ellen, living in Scotts Valley. They ended up with a large family of 13 children. Rufus Tallman passed away in 1904, then, his wife followed him in death in 1912.

Next, the hotel became known as Riffe's Hotel. Riffe's Hotel was still in the Tallman family, however, since Rufus Tallman's daughter, Winnie inherited the hotel, and married Hank Riffe, hence the hotel's moniker of that time.

The Blue Wing Saloon, next door to the Tallman Hotel, began serving customers in the 1880s when it  satisfied many a traveler's thirst, until Prohibition struck.

Another old time Upper Lake landmark building is the Harriet Lee Hammond Library, which turned 100 years old in October 2016.

According to Lake County librarian, Jan Cook, and an earlier Lake County News article by Editor Elizabeth Larson, the Hammond Library was constructed in the craftsman style, and was named for Harriet Lee Hammond, who originally hailed from an East Coast family.

Harriet's older sister, Alice Hathaway Lee, became Theodore Roosevelt's first wife. Unfortunately, Alice passed away in 1884 soon after their only child, also named Alice, was born.

Harriet Lee Hammond came west in the 1880s with her husband to “pursue agriculture” on their 600-acre Upper Lake farm. Her husband's name was Charles Mifflin Hammond, and he was a Harvard graduate.

Many of the early Upper Lake residents resided in the outskirts of town, since the three nearby creeks were prone to winter flooding.

Northeast of Upper Lake is Snow Mountain, which was given its name by the Pomo Indians. Aptly named, Snow Mountain holds onto its snowy cloak longer than most local peaks, as it is 7,056 feet in elevation.

The Pomo Indians enjoyed the riches of the mountain and its valleys through hunting deer, elk and small game. When the season was right they harvested grains and acorns. Their summer camps were located in the mountain's regions. 

According to the informational sign at the entrance to Upper Lake, this busy little burg was part of Salvador Vallejo's land grant. Actually, it included what is now the town of Upper Lake, and the valleys of Bachelor, Big and Scotts Valleys.

Upper Lake has an all-encompassing history since, in 1822, Mexico gained its independence from Spain and the chain of 21 missions were secularized. The secularization process brought about land grants in what is now California.

Then, Salvador Vallejo, who was the brother of the military governor of Northern California, Mariano Vallejo, was the recipient of one these land grants.

At this time in California's famous history, Anglos began heading West and became tired of Mexican rule, which led to the infamous Bear Flag revolt in the town of Sonoma in the year of 1846.

Upper Lake boasts two of those “Bear Flaggers,” as they were known – Benjamin Dewell and William Elliot.

Elliot and Dewell, turned out to be some of the first European-American pioneers in Upper Lake. They dwelled near what is now the United States Forest Service ranger station on Elk Mountain Road. 

Today Upper Lake retains its old-timey flavor with the interesting shops in the Old Town section, wine tasting, antique shops, the historic Upper Lake Library and the Blue Wing Saloon.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.