Richardson purchased the property which was to become Camp Richardson in 1923 from Comstock and Lawrence, who had used the land as far back as the 1870s for logging.
An additional parcel along the lakeshore was purchased from Copeland's Grove Resort.
Captain Richardson would travel from Placerville in his Piece Arrow touring car and transport guests to his idyllic haven in the towering pines on the shores of the “Lake of the Sky."
All the guest cabins were named after popular automobiles or oil and gas companies since, beginning in 1911, Richardson owned and operated the first auto stage line between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.
Built in 1926, the Historic Hotel features a Great Room complete with log beams and a huge stone fireplace.
An old log carrier, nearly ten feet tall, stands on the front lawn. The Mountain Sports Center was once a gas station and garage. The Post Office from the Tallac Resort was moved to Camp Richardson in 1927, and houses the Coffee and Confectionery today.
In 1953 Alonzo Richardson died and the resort continued to operate under the management of his wife Cora and his son-in-law Ray Knisely.
The national forest service acquired Camp Richardson in 1965 and has allowed the private sector to operate the resort under a permit since 1985.
They stopped approving the permit for locals to operate the resort, and in Jan 2024, sold out to an out of state corporation
In 1904 Joseph Parmeter purchased a 100 x 400 foot
parcel of land at the terminus of Gardner's railroad.
Under the management of John Copeland and his wife
Nellie, Parmeter's daughter, this became a summer camp
called the Grove.
The Copelands rebuilt the lumber
camp pier, put up summer cabins and tents, and built a
dance pavillion and saloon over the water. The
finished establishment was called Copeland's Grove
Hotel. It later became Ziegler's Grove under new
management.
Access to the resort was via a 50 foot
right-of-way which ran through property owned by Harry
0. Comstock and Melville Lawrence, agents for "Lucky"
Baldwin. None of the earlier improvements related to
Gardner, Parmeter, or Copeland exist today.
In 1909 Richardson, along with others,
started the Placerville-Tallac auto stage which served
the south end of Tahoe.
In 1923, Alonzo Leroy Richardson purchased the Comstock and Lawrence lands, which he had leased since 1921. He also acquired the Grove holdings. Richardson had been in charge of the grounds and stage delivery for the Tahoe Tavern.
Richardson proceeded to build
the first rental cabins for his camp and to add a pier
100 feet west of Copeland's pier. In 1927, he acquired
the post office from Baldwin's Tallac Hotel, then being
demolished. The acquisitions allowed Richardson to
offer regular mail, express, and freight steamer
services.
The resort was promoted as being along the
Lincoln Transcontinental Highway. A route map included
in the Camp Richardson brochure of the 1930s, depicted
a resort accessed by all major metropolitan areas from
San Diego to Red Bluff.
Those wishing a shave or haircut could get one at the resort's own barber shop and beauty parlor. For guests with cameras, a twenty-four hour developing service was offered, and for visitors needing a lube or oil change, a full service garage was located at the resort.
By the mid-1930s Alonzo Richardson had succeeded in developing one of the most popular family tourist camps in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Richardson's strategy for his success was built around the premise that a successful tourist camp depended on a good, efficient transportation system.
Richardson himself, realized
the need for an adequate transportation route between
Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, and organized an auto stage
line under the name "Star Auto Stage Association",
referred to locally as the "Pierce Arrow Stage
Company".
During the teens Richardson arranged with
the Antioch and Eastern Railway to provide discounts to
passengers enroute to Lake Tahoe. Richardson also had
some form of agreement with the Southern Pacific
Railroad for discounts on passenger service.
After 1911 the State Railroad Commission regulated the
licensing of public auto stage companies in
California. For at least eight years, Richardson was
the principal operator of auto stages between
Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, although other companies
tried to compete, most were unsuccessful
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