Tallac Historical Site, Lake Tahoe

Ephraim “Yank” Clement owned Yanks Station on the Carson River Route. He provided services for travelers on the emigrant trail. When trains crossed the Sierra, traffic declined. Yank purchased 8 acres on the shore of Lake Tahoe at Tallac Point. Along with his wife Lydia, they build Tallac Point House. The resort could accommodate 40 guests and had a ballroom and campsites.

Self-made millionaire Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin purchased the adjacent 138 acres in 1872. Yank and Baldwin did not get along. Baldwin foreclosed on Tallac Point Hose in 1880. He wanted to serve the elite clientele of San Fransisco. The resort added cottages, lawns, beaches and boats. In 1899, he created a new resort, Tallac Hotel, the “Grandest in all the world,” which included a casino.

Baldwin leased, then sold, a private parcel to finance improvements. The resort operated until WWI, when it closed. The Tallac Point House burned down and the Tallac Hotel was torn down in 1920. Two original cabins survived, the Anita and Dextra cabins, named after Baldwin’s daughter and granddaughter.

George Pope purchased the property in 1923, and his family owned it until 1965. In the 1960s, the US Forest Service purchased private property along Lake Tahoe to increase recreation and access. Tahoe Heritage Foundation repairs and preserves the historic structures.