Once upon a time, there was a lovely, azure blue lake, surrounded by a lush forest. When Mark Twain first viewed Lake Tahoe, he remarked, "surely this is the finest view the world affords." Lake Tahoe's first residents were the Washoe and Paiute Indians who lived and fished along its shores. As time passed, and civilization moved west, settlers paused in passes to the north and south to marvel at the color and clarity of this magnificent body of water. Incline Village slept through the Lake's early development, as the centers of activity in the early days sprang up at South Lake Tahoe, Glenbrook and Tahoe City. In the mid-1800's, lumber interests discovered the Nevada North Shore as an excellent source of lumber for the Washoe mines, and at that point, began methodical logging. The area was called "Incline" in those days. The name was derived from the double track narrow gauge tramline, which carried logs nearly 1,400 feet vertically to the V-flume, which ran along the mountain top granite outcroppings. The 4,000 foot-long tramline was located in the area that is now Mill Creek Subdivision (hikers will find the scars and remnants of the tramline and flume in the area between Mill Creek and Sand Harbor Beach). The V-flume carried Incline's timber on the first leg of its route to the water tunnel through the mountains and to the mines of Virginia City and the Washoe Valley. In 1884 the remote settlement of Incline Village was declared both an election precinct and a fourth class post office, thus marking the first time that Incline was "on the map."  By 1897 Incline had been left a sea of stumps, with a maze of crumbling flumes and rotting log chutes. The ugly duckling of the Lake area, Incline was left to sleep and rejuvenate itself. In the early 1900s visitors to Lake Tahoe spent glorious summer holidays in the vacation paradises of Glenbrook and Tallac to the south, and Tahoe Tavern and Brockway to the north. A one-lane road connected the north and south shores, and in the 1930's summer homes were built in the area of Incline Beach (south from Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Hotel along Lakeshore Boulevard). By this time the lumber interests had sold most of the Nevada North Shore from Crystal Bay to Zephyr Cove to a multimillionaire real estate magnate, "Captain" George Whittell. Captain Whittell built his stone castle on a point south of Sand Harbor (his home can be seen from the road as you are driving to the South Shore). Captain Whittell was quite a character, and at one time had wild animals roaming his reserve. Incline Village Growth and Development Incline was little more than a "wide spot" in the road during the 30s, 40s and early 50s, with only summer homes and a trailer park to distinguish it. Year-round residents were few, and those who remain tell stories of wild winters, food shortages and isolation. In the late 1950s Crystal Bay Development Company approached Captain Whittell, then in his declining years, with an offer to purchase the 9,000 acres, which is Incline Village today. Crystal Bay Development Company had a grand plan for a community, totally unique and master-planned to perfection. The sale was made and development began. In the 1960s roads were cut, a ski area was designed, beaches were developed,

 and Robert Trent Jones was contracted to conceive a golf course which would couple beauty and challenge. Lot and condominium sales were brisk, private homes were under construction along Lakeshore Boulevard (then the main highway), in Mill Creek, the central area, and on the view sites in Chateau Acres and the Country Club Subdivision. The lower Ponderosa area was developed, and lakefront condominiums were built. A small shopping center began, with a market and post office. Children attended elementary school above the present site of Incline High School. High school students were bussed to Reno — leaving at 6:00 in the morning and on winter days not returning until 8:00 or 9:00 at night. Crystal Bay Development, in an attempt to preserve something of those early logging days, named this new community "Incline Village." By 1964 a new elementary school was under construction, and several years later, the community cut the ribbon at Incline High School. Incline Village was on its way. In June of 1968 Crystal Bay Development Company sold its remaining interests to Boise Cascade

 Corporation and new development began.  A second golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. was constructed and Incline Village Units 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were master planned. Land sold quickly. Large condominium projects were built — Mountain Shadows and Forest Pines. Where supply could not meet the demands of the 1960s, now in the early 1970s supply exceeded the demand and Incline Village was ready for another "nap". Recovery came in 1976 as renewed interest in Incline Village as a year-round community sprang up. Residents became interested in their political future — the subject of incorporation was discussed and the possibility of forming a new Lake county was explored. The swing had started toward a community with a larger percentage of permanent residents, and facilities were built to handle their needs. Incline Village Today That brings us to the Incline Village we have today...with signs of a healthy future in evidence around every corner. Incline residents and property owners come from all parts of the country and the world