Dollar Point in North Lake Tahoe
A Brief History
Dollar Point residents know that we live on one of the choicest residential
sites at Lake Tahoe, but would we have been as anxious to follow a realtor
around a tract called “Old Lousy?”
Our area was originally part of Chinquapin, a name given by the Washoe
Indians describing a scrub tree with edible nuts that grew plentifully in the
region. However, in 1872 a bedraggled, land squatting cordwood cutter named
Griffin helped himself to a patch of land on the promontory, where he built a
shack. It was his custom to wander into Tahoe City and drink at J. B. Campbell’s
over water Custom House, where he liked to sit by the stove and warm himself
while picking crawling vermin off his person. This practice revolted the hard
drinking mountain men of that time, who encouraged “Old Lousy” to return to his
shack and stay there. Other possible origins of the name are attributed to
Robert Watson, who said the waters surrounding the point were “lousy with
trout”, and Captain J. A. Todman, who had difficulty navigating his boat around
“the lousy point.”
A more flattering name was coined when James Lick, the San Francisco
philanthropist, offered to give $1,000,000 for the construction of an
observatory on the site. He liked the clear atmosphere and the relatively light
snowfall during the winter. He was supported by Duane Bliss and Henry Yerington
of Glenbrook, who owned a half section of land at Old Lousy and offered to
donate 140 acres to Lick if his plan materialized.
The San Francisco Bulletin enthusiastically backed the observatory project,
saying that “Old Lousy” had a fine harbor and 40,000 gallons of pure spring
waster available every 24 hours from the creeks now known as Watson and Burton.
However, Nevada, as usual, had other ideas. The Virginia City Chronicle claimed
that Mount Davidson, then known as “Sun Mountain” or “Peak” would be a better
astronomical choice. They contended that their location----“lacked the humidity
which we are positive exists at Tahoe, and besides, hadn’t the point been named
Lousy in the first place?”
The observatory claim was tossed back and forth, with dark horse factions
supporting locations at Donner Summit and Carson. In the end, the observatory
was built on---“a miserable goat hill in the Pacific Range”, Mount Hamilton
overlooking Santa Clara Valley. Residents of Tahoe, Truckee, Carson and Virginia
City retreated to their corners and spoke no more about the project, but the
name Observatory Point thankfully replaced “Old Lousy.”
In 1884 the Glenbrook Mills reached across to Observatory Point and timbered
337 acres. Hunting and fishing continued to be excellent, despite the commercial
activity in the area. The D. L. Bliss interests took over the title to the point
in 1898 when they formed their Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company. In
1916 Mrs. Laura Moore Knight of St. Louis bought the acreage from Bliss’s heirs
and built a cluster of chalets around a main structure that she named
“Wynchwood”. In 1927 Mrs. Knight sold the property to Stanley Dollar Sr., the
San Francisco shipping magnate, and she purchased the sweep of land and the
island at the southwest end of Emerald Bay. Here she built the famous
“Vikingsholm Castle”, completed in 1929, for which she is remembered today.
Dollar added another tract of land which encompasses today’s Chinquapin
development adjacent to the point, together considered to be one of the best
residential areas on Lake Tahoe. |
Click here to go to Dollar Point Undergrounding Project (DPUP)
Contact Dollar Point Association
Physical Address
170 Observation Drive, Tahoe City, California, 96145 (Pool)
3000 Edgewater Drive, Tahoe City, California, 96145 (Beach)
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 1490, Tahoe City, California, 96145
Telephone
(530) 583-4487 |
Telecopier
(530) 583-2336 |
E-mail: Dollar Point Association
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