Gem of the Sierra: Schemes and Splendor in Nineteenth-Century Lake Tahoe

For many people the history and literature of Lake Tahoe is an endless love letter to its extraordinary splendor. But, as with most histories, the story is complicated. Lake Tahoe in the nineteenth century was marked by insult and mistreatment of the Indigenous population; commercial exploitation of the lake’s timber, water, and fisheries; a paroxysm of resorts; environmental calamities; and venal political backbiting. In that era, too, Lake Tahoe became a commanding emblem of national long...