Editing La Porte, California (section)

==History==
At the time of statehood in 1850, La Porte was located in [[Yuba County, California|Yuba County]], one of California's 27 original counties.
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In 1852, [[Sierra County, California|Sierra County]] was created from part of Yuba County. After that time, La Porte was located in Sierra County.
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In 1854, [[Plumas County, California|Plumas County]] was created from part of [[Butte County, California|Butte County]]. In 1866, a further realignment placed La Porte in Plumas County,<ref>Coy, Owen Cochran (1923)  [https://books.google.com/books?id=XEILAQAAIAAJ&pg=31 ''The Genesis of California Counties''] California Historical Survey Commission</ref> where it has remained ever since.

La Porte was named Rabbit Creek until 1857.<ref>[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=56321 Everts Historical Marker] hmdb.org</ref> Gold was found in Rabbit Creek in 1850. It was a hub of gold mining<ref>Clark, W. B. (1970) [https://explore.museumca.org/goldrush/dist-laporte.html La Porte] ''Gold Districts of California'' California Department of Conservation/Division of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 193</ref> activity and commerce in the region during the [[California Gold Rush]]. The town was largely destroyed by fires in 1855, 1861, 1868, 1871 and 1905.<ref>Gould, Helen Weaver (1972) [https://www.donquigley.net/documents/2406_REF.pdf ''La Porte Scrapbook''] pages 122-126</ref>

===Rabbit Creek House===
'''Rabbit Creek Hotel''' - Rabbit Creek House was built in 1852 by Eli S. Lester. This was the first building in Rabbit Creek. The Rabbit Creek House had a [[Hotel]], [[trading post]] and two [[barn]]s for horses. Busy during the Gold Rush, the site of the Rabbit Creek Hotel is a [[California Historical Landmark]] No. 213 at the north corner of Main Street and Church Streets.<ref>[https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/213 Historical Landmark] California State Parks</ref><ref>[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=143426 Rabbit Creek House] hmdb.org</ref>

=== Civil War era ===
[[File:Dockery's_Palmetto_flag.png|thumb|Digital reconstruction of Dockery's Palmetto flag from newspaper accounts<ref name=":0" />]]
During the first year of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] some residents wanted to show support for the [[Confederate States of America|Rebellion]]. They raised a [[Flag of South Carolina|Palmetto Flag]] near Dockery's Saloon which was described in one source as "A piece of white cotton cloth, ornamented with a charcoal sketch of a [[Sabal palmetto|palmetto tree]] and black snake." Soon after it was raised the banner was removed.<ref name=":0">''Nevada Democrat'', 20 June 1861</ref>

[[Image:Poker flat ca.jpg|thumb|right|The 1886 Scott home at Poker Flat]]

===Howland Flat and Poker Flat===
{{anchor|Howland Flat}}
About {{convert|12|mi|km}} outside La Porte, via the Port Wine Ridge Road in adjacent [[Sierra County, California|Sierra County]], lies the remains of the former gold mining town of Howland Flat.<ref>[https://www.passportintime.com/howland-flat-2010.html Howland Flat] Passport In Time USFS
</ref>

Also on Port Wine Ridge Road, and southwest of [[Mount Fillmore]], the ghost town of [[Grass Flat, California|Grass Flat]] is located. It is the site of extensive gold rush [[hydraulic mining]], with a dramatic and barren landscape still remaining.

The [[ghost town]] of Poker Flat is located on the Poker Flat OHV trail in the [[Plumas National Forest]].<ref>[https://explore.museumca.org/goldrush/dist-pokerflat.html Poker Flat] Oakland Museum of California
</ref> The last-standing structure of Poker Flat, the 1886 Scott House, stood until the winter of 2014–15, when it collapsed.

[[File:1874 CA Longboard Racing.png|thumb|Sierra Longboard Racing, 1874]]

===Sierra longboard racing===
[[File:Dope_is_King.jpg|thumb|1869 Alturas Snow Shoe Club race meet]]
[[Skiing]] may have been practiced in Rabbit Creek as early as 1851 by  Hamilton Ward and James Murray using improvised barrel staves.<ref>Berry, William B. (1991) ''Lost Sierra: Gold, Ghosts, and Skis, the legendary days of skiing in the California mining camps''
Soda Springs: Western America SkiSport Museum {{OCLC|26037828}} p11</ref> In 1866 the Alturas Snowshoe Club was formed at La Porte.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' Volume 32, Number 4967, 28 February 1867</ref><ref>Mills, David C. (1938) “California Pioneers on Skis” ''American Ski Annual'' pg 35–36</ref> This longboard racing association was founded by Creed Haymond to arrange the local Norwegian snow-shoe club tournaments at [[Onion Valley]],<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MDA18680129.2.6&srpos=19 "Snow Shoe Racing"] ''Marysville Daily Appeal'', Vol 17 #24, 29 January 1868</ref> Port Wine,<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDU18690304.2.2&srpos=29 "Snow Shoe Races in Sierra"] ''Sacramento Daily Union'', Volume 36, Number 5596, 4 March 1869</ref> St. Louis, Pine Grove,<ref>[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86058108/1863-03-21/ed-1/seq-2/  "Snow Shoe Race"] ''Weekly Butte Record'', March 21, 1863 p2</ref> Howland Flat,<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDU18680328.2.4&srpos=27 "Snowshoe Racing at Howland Flat"] ''Sacramento Daily Union'' Volume 35 Number 5304, 28 March 1868</ref> Newark,<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MDA18620225.2.4&srpos=102 "The News"] ''Marysville Daily Appeal'' Volume V, Number 48, 25 February 1862</ref> [[Gibsonville, California|Gibsonville]],<ref>[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1890-04-03/ed-1/seq-3/ "Racing on Snow-Shoes"] ''Sacramento Daily Record-Union'' April 03, 1890</ref> and others. The last annual La Porte tournament was held in 1911, although revivals were held in 1938, 1941, 1951–1952, 1964 and since 1993 at nearby California locations.<ref>Page, David (2017) [https://www.powder.com/stories/longboarding-lost-sierra Longboarding Through the Lost Sierra] ''Powder'' magazine</ref><ref>Berry, William B. (1991) ''Lost Sierra: Gold, Ghosts, and Skis'' Soda Springs: Western America SkiSport Museum {{OCLC|26037828}} pp222–223</ref>

[[California Historical Landmark]]s 723 and 724 note La Porte as a Pioneer Ski Area of America.<ref>[https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/723 Pioneer Ski Area] Parks CA</ref>
Plumas National Forest Service placed an informational placard atop nearby Lexington Hill, replacing a 1991 Alturas Snowshoe Club marker which commemorated the start of organized downhill ski racing in the western hemisphere.<ref>[https://www.plumasmuseum.org/pdf/nletter05.08.pdf Historical Markers of Plumas County] ''las Plumas'' v34 #2 2008 Plumas County Museum Association p4</ref>