The community passed through several names before 1858. The original name, Haydenville, honored David, Charles, and William Hayden, gold miners. Biddle's Camp and Biddleville commemorated William C. Biddle; Simpsonville honored Robert Simpson, a local merchant; and Johnsonville recognized John F. Johnson. The name became Bear Valley in 1858. The original Mexican grant was a "floating grant", meaning the total acreage was fixed but the boundaries were not surveyed. When the
California Gold Rush began in 1848, Frémont moved his grant's borders into the hills. Those hills proved to be lucrative, and his mining operations centered in Bear Valley. At its peak, Bear Valley had a population of 3,000, including Chinese, Cornish, and Mexican residents. During 1850–60 when Frémont's Pine Tree and Josephine Mines were in operation, Frémont built a hotel called Oso House from lumber shipped around Cape Horn; the structure no longer stands. Frémont lived and worked in Bear Valley, and his large home was nicknamed the Little
White House; it burned in 1866. In 1863, Frémont sold
Rancho Las Mariposas for $6,000,000. A fire in 1888 destroyed much of the town; subsequent rebuilding left several structures that survive today, including the Bon Ton Saloon, the Trabucco Store, the
Odd Fellows Hall, a schoolhouse, and the remains of a jail. == Geography ==