#0725 Old Bear Valley Dam
Title
#0725 Old Bear Valley Dam
Site information:
W edge of Big Bear Lake, intersection of State Hwys 18 and 38, 4.8 mi W of Big Bear Lake Village34.242037,-116.976020
Plaque information:
State plaquePlaque text:
Old Bear Valley DamIn 1884 Frank Brown built an unusual dam here to supply irrigation water for the Redlands area. The single-arch granite dam formed Big Bear Lake, then the world's largest man-made lake. Engineers claimed the dam would not hold, and declared it "The Eighth Wonder of the World" when it did. The old dam is usually underwater because of the 20-foot higher dam built 200 feet west in 1912.
Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Billy Holcomb Chapter of E Clampus Vitus, U.S. Forest Service, San Bernardino County Museum, and Big Bear Valley Historical Society. October 10, 1982.
Registered 2/5/1960