The Geysers Geothermal Field inhabits a land filled with artifacts of the past. Its powerful geothermal energy production is coupled with an extensive history dating back to over 12,000 years ago; before the start of geothermal electricity production in 1920, The Geysers was used for a variety of purposes for the Californian and global communities. Similar to modern-day Yellowstone, Ojo Caliente, Lava Hot Springs, Esalen Institute, or The Gideon Putnam, The Geysers was one of the first geothermally-powered tourist attractions.
Source: Calpine, geysers.com/history11. “U.S. Boundary Commissioner John Bartlett creates the earliest known illustrations of The Geysers.”
When Native Americans first came across the hot springs and fumaroles of northern California during the Paleoindian Period, they discovered incredible features like the healing and cleansing properties of the sulfurous water. The Lake Miwok tribe inhabited Castle Rock Springs and the Wappo tribe constructed litters made of willow branches to bring the ill to Big Sulphur Creek.
Six distinct tribes existed in the region now known as The Geysers, each with unique stories about these natural geothermal expressions. There was a common belief among the Coast Indians that grizzly bears were possessed by evil spirits. In one story, after a bear died from being scalded by the hot waters, the spirit dwelling inside of it took control of The Geysers. Shortly after, “there were many sick and dying with a strange plague, or pestilence that had suddenly appeared among the tribe.”
The elders persuaded a gray-haired seer to attempt to banish the evil spirit and heal the people by carving the image of a human face in an outcropping on rocks near what today is Witches’ Cauldron. Just before it was completed, however, the seer mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again.
But his magic worked and the spirit seemed to have been appeased; the illness was vanquished, and “During the night new springs had burst forth three-quarters of a mile down the river.” This story is one of many that paints the natural and mystical nature of The Geysers, which only added to the allure for European settlers when they discovered the region.
First coined as the Gates to Hades, The Geysers was an incredibly popular spot for Europeans who explored the West Coast. Ironically, the modern name of The Geysers is misleading; in reality, there are no actual geysers! “The name was suggested to early explorers by the fumarolic activity and steam rising from hot springs” (USGS, 2023).
In 1848, it began its journey as a “history-rich” tourist destination and hotspot. Architect M. Levy built Old Homestead, the first house in the region constructed “on a beautiful flat just west of Geyser Canyon.” This whole location was titled “Leavy Dell,” which was famously known for a showdown between grizzly bear Old Slewfoot and settler William Bell Elliott in 1847.
From that point, dozens of small homesteads and hotels popped up across the region, including The Geysers Resort Hotel. The ownership of this bustling site exchanged hands innumerable times until its destruction in 1938; despite this, business was truly booming in the late 19th century.
Major B.C. Truman explained that during his stay, “the hotel was so full during June, July, and August 1882, that people were compelled to sleep in bath-houses and on billiard tables” (Hodgson, 1997, p. 10). Clark Foss, the stagecoach driver that ferried customers through the rocky road between The Geysers and nearby towns, garnered so much global popularity that he visited Queen Victoria at her personal invitation!
Popularity of the region was built by a combination of folk stories and unique natural formations. One of the most popular locations in The Geysers was a series of steam vents known as The Witches Cauldron. It was described as a “Black cavernous opening in the solid rock, about seven feet across, and of unknown depth, filled with thick icky liquid, boiling hot, that tumbles and roars under a pressure of escaping steam… that seems to proceed from some Plutonic reservoir. One irresistibly thinks of the hellbroth in Macbeth” (Hodgson, 1997, p. 16). These spooky and extraordinary manifestations of geothermal power show the incredible potential of geothermal energy as a tourist attraction, as well as fascinating science behind them.
Source: Calpine, geysers.com/history11. “The Geysers is in its prime as a major tourist destination, with famous visitors from around the world.”
“At the Witches’ Cauldron,” Geysers, Sonoma Co., California. Watkins’ Pacific Coast 1867. Courtesy of the Online Archive of California. https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf7d5nb60g/
Excerpt (p. 19) from “A Geysers Album” (Hodgson, S.F., 1997).
The Geysers Resort Hotel was lauded for its hospitality, country comfort, freedom, and lively spirit. It received a number of extremely important visitors, including: banker J. Pierpont Morgan; presidents Ulysses S. Grant, William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt; actress Lotta Crabtree; writer Mark Twain; and King Edward VII. Moreover, the site had some of its own local celebrities. John Edwards, better known as Happy Jack, was a wealthy lawyer that built a house in The Geysers to escape arthritis and a romance-gone-wrong. Living as an aloof citizen of the area, his jovial aura built a reputation that continues to this day; 12 modern wells in The Geysers Geothermal Field bear his name. A sepulcher inscribed with his name now exists at the place where his small cabin once stood.
The Geysers is a special site of rich history and profound opportunity. In 1885, The Geysers Resort Hotel began its slow slide into idleness. While it was temporarily revamped in 1920 by John D. Grant, it never saw true fame again. At least not in the realm of tourism; Grant’s biggest desire for his new property was not the bathhouse or hotel. Rather, “his real concern was harnessing steam for electrical power generation. With his electrical project, he ushered in the fourth era of development at the field” (Hodgson, 1997, p. 20). The early 1920s saw a distinct shift in The Geysers, moving from infrastructure development in bathing and housing to geothermal wells and steam engines. But the Gates to Hades will always be remembered for its steaming mark on history.
Spanning more than 45 square miles, The Geysers in northern California is the largest geothermal power plant complex in the world. For over a century, its steam has powered innovation, clean energy, and communities across the region.
One of the many obstacles for hopeful settlers is the need for power and heat on these barren landscapes. Some geologists and other scientists theorize that geothermal energy may be the answer.
The team held a public Town Hall in Milford, UT to share the breakthroughs and future plans of Utah FORGE in a casual, relaxed setting.
