Waters from this spring have been used for generations by the Mountain Maidu and local ranchers. Ground water here flows naturally through calcium carbonate rocks, creating a characteristic fizz or soda taste, and such waters have long been attributed with medicinal value. The rocking in the spring basin was constructed in 1903 by Frank L. Miller, whose parents were early immigrants to the valley. Like many other valleys in the northern Sierra Nevada, Humbug Valley was formed by tectonic faulting in the earth’s crust, followed by infilling by alluvial sediments from Yellow Creek and its tributaries. The 1,500 acre meadow, at 4,300 to 4,480 feet in elevation, provides habitat diversity for wildlife and aquatic species. Prior to the California Gold Rush, Humbug Valley was exclusively occupied by the Mountain Maidu, who called the location Tasman Koyom. Skilled hunters and gatherers, they were stewards of this resource-rich valley and its adjacent uplands, which provided abundant seasonal food sources and cultural materials. The meadow offered seeds, bulbs, medicinal plants, and willow for basket making; acorns were ground in numerous bedrock mortars found near the spring, along with pine nuts from sugar pine and yellow pine. Montane animals, waterfowl, and fish were also hunted and caught, and basalt outcrops near the valley were used for tool manufacture, with obsidian and cherts brought in from other locations. The Maidu continue to use Humbug Valley today and are actively involved in preservation projects. Humbug Valley began to be used as a stock range in 1855 and was quickly developed for dairy ranches, gold mines, the small town of Longville, and summer resort hotels. Accounts indicate it was first called Soda Valley and later renamed by disgruntled miners. In 1859, about 200 miners worked claims here and bought fresh food from ranches in Humbug Valley and neighboring Butt Valley. By then, much of the valley was in the possession of miner and rancher Henry Landt, who that year sold 480 acres to Andrew Miller and his longtime partner Rufus Kingsley. Two years later, Andrew Miller was elected to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors with 224 votes, 54 from Humbug Valley. His son Frank Miller built the distinctive Victorian home north of the spring. In 1867, Christian and Louisa Lemm bought 1,000 acres of Humbug Valley from Henry Landt, and the Lemm Ranch, now 40 acres on the west side of the valley, has remained in the family ever since. Local hotels later created a summer resort atmosphere for visitors from the Central Valley arriving by the historic Humbug Road, while Maidu families stayed in the valley and many worked on local ranches and in the hotels. Fires contributed to the decline of the hotels, and their era ended with land purchases by power and electric companies in the early 1900s. PG&E acquired Humbug Valley in 1930 when it purchased the Great Western Power Company. Although the valley was considered for use as a hydroelectric reservoir, it was never developed for that purpose, and PG&E instead leased Humbug Valley to ranchers for summer livestock grazing until 2000.