The San Joaquin Electric Company was formed and the first earthen dam was built in Crane Valley in 1901. Mule-drawn freight wagons carried machinery and supplies up the mountain and went down loaded with timber that had been cleared from the reservoir site.

What seemed to be a good project fell into ruin because of the work of a rival company. When the electric power from the plant was brought to Fresno, the owner of a rival gas company purchased land and water rights upstream from the hydro plant. The water was diverted onto a barren hillside so it did not reach the power house. This problem, along with the dry summer months, forced the San Joaquin Electric Company in bankruptcy.

In 1902 the San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation was formed to purchase the electric company and later the electric operations of the rival gas company. The dam was enlarged in 1905 and the present dam was built in 1910 (145 feet high).

SPL main line railroad tracks crossing Bass Lake Dam. Photo by "Pop" Laval from the book, "Rails to the Minarets" by Hank Johnston, copyright 1980, Trans-Anglo Books

The new, and huge "Minarets" Locomotive, SPL #5, posed on Bass Lake Dam for "Pop" Laval, September, 1927. Also from "Rails to the Minarets"

In early June 1923, the Sugar Pine Lumber Company began laying railroad track across the dam and up the mountain 10.8 miles to Central Camp. Central Camp served as the headquarters for the Sugar Pine Lumber Company during the heyday of timber harvesting in the mountains above Bass Lake. Central Camp and the logging operations of SPL have been detailed in the book "Rails to the Minarets - The story of the Sugar Pine Lumber Company" by Hank Johnston.

Central Camp was known as the largest, finest, costliest and most up-to-date logging camp ever known to the industry. Built at a cost of $600,000 by a crew of 500 workers, Central Camp consisted of 70 structures containing in excess of a million board feet of lumber and housed approximately 700 men, women and children. The crews harvested 100,000 logs per season between 1923 and 1931 when the logging operation came to a halt due to the Great Depression, which dried up the lumber market.

The lake was called Crane Valley Reservoir for many years but the name was eventually changed when a small Bass Lake lumber operation polluted the lake, killing all the fish that were in it. In addition to being fined, the lumber company was ordered by the government to replace all the fish that were lost. The chosen fish was Bass, hence the new name - Bass Lake.

Bass Lake is approximately 4½ miles long and ½ mile wide at the widest point and is at an elevation of 3,400 feet.

Bass Lake is now owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the waters of the lake are still used today to generate electricity and for crop irrigation in the central valley as well as for recreational use. The lake is considered a "warm water" lake with water temperatures reaching 80 degrees in the summer months.

Most of the land around the lake is part of the Sierra National Forest. The U.S. forest Service designated the lake an official Recreation Area and has developed campgrounds and picnic areas on the south shore of the lake. The north shore of the lake is primarily made up of private cabins and homes, some dating back to the early 30s.

An important part of The Pines Resort is a spectacular wood and stone lodge called "Ducey's On The Lake" which has an interesting history.

In 1941, Buddy Freeman started a Bass Lake tradition with the construction of Freeman's Bass Lake Lodge on the north shore of the lake on Forest Service land about one mile west of the Pines Village. The lodge, which consisted of a bar, restaurant, and rental cabins, was sold to three men in 1947; Jeff Jeffords, Karl Briz and A. C. Zingle of Fresno.

In 1950, the facility was purchased by Maurice and Marie Ducey of Fresno and the name was changed to Ducey's Bass Lake Lodge. During the fifties, they built a general store and campground and added to the collection of Indian baskets, antique guns, and mounted animal heads that decorated the lodge. For nearly 20 years, both locals and visitors grew accustomed to making "Ducey's" a regular gathering spot. Upon their retirement in 1968, they sold the lodge to Al Westman who sold it a year later to Dr. Robert and Gloria Rickard. In 1975, The Pines Resort purchased Ducey's. It was the rustic charm of the old Ducey's Lodge that brought Universal Pictures to Bass Lake during the fall of 1987 to film The Great Outdoors starring John Candy and Dan Ackroyd. The Lodge was featured in a number of scenes in the movie.

Six months later, with plans being made for another busy summer at Ducey's, tragedy struck. On June 2, 1988, cooks were in the kitchen preparing for a dinner meeting when a grease fire erupted. Four hours later all that was left of the wooden structure were the slate steps that led to the front entry and the stone fireplace and the sign on a post out by the street. The fire was widely reported around the state and mourned by all who had enjoyed good food and fun times at this historic gathering place.

After two years of planning and nearly a year of construction, a new era began at Bass Lake with the Grand Opening of Ducey's On The Lake on Saturday, April 20, 1991. Although larger and containing modern amenities, the "new" Ducey's has retained the warmth of the old lodge being built primarily with wood and stone on the lake's edge, one mile east of the original site. Each table has been hand-crafted by a local artisan and boat builder, reminiscent of the deckwork on many classic wooden boats. A collection of lake memorabilia and historical photographs are on continuous display throughout the new lodge. The original 20-acre site has been developed into single family residential lots.

The Pines Resort was established in 1977 when partners Robert Stern and Rudi Schulte bought an existing resort in The Pines Village with the goal of transforming what had historically been a "seasonal" operation into a full service, year-round destination resort. That same year construction started on 84 two-story Chalets that replaced a small number of "rustic" cabins on the property. Extensive remodeling of other existing facilities took place immediately along with the addition of tennis courts, meeting rooms and boat docks.