Rainbow Tavern, later known as Rainbow Lodge, was built in 1927 by Herstle Jones, who also built Nyack Lodge and was the brother of Oscar Jones, builder of the Soda Springs Hotel. It served summer travelers over the Sierra with meals, rooms, cabins, and a trout farm where visitors could catch fish and have them cooked in the dining hall. After Old Highway 40 was plowed in winter, it also became a winter destination and way station, with a rope tow behind the building and skiers welcomed there before more adventurous skiers were taken up to Sugar Bowl. Gas stations stood across the street from the tavern and directly in front of it. A local story tells of a man from Hampshire Rocks, or Cramptons, who lost $25,000 in gold coins gambling, returned after leaving in anger, and then shot the winner dead when the winner refused to continue the game after coming back with wet legs; the gold coins are presumed to remain somewhere nearby along the river.