Thought to have been named for Commodore John Drake Sloat of Bear Flag Revolt fame, Sloat developed from several ranches established in Long Valley during the 1800s into a lumber community. In 1912, the Sloat Lumber Co. cut the first boards in its new sawmill, allowing workers to replace their tents with real houses. The Western Pacific Railroad established a depot, and in 1915 a post office opened. After the F.S. Murphy Lumber Co. rebuilt its mill following a 1918 fire, Quincy Lumber Co. took over operations in 1926. Feather River Lumber Co. bought the mill in 1955, sold it in the late 1960s to Digorgio Corp., which sold it in 1976 to Sierra Pacific Industries. The mill shut down for good in 1991, and after some horsetrading the property came into the hands of E. Dan Leonhardt.