Lake Valley was originally called Daly. In the 1870's it was little more than a stage stop. Then it changed its name to Lake Valley due to the anchient dry lake beds in the area. Shortly thereafter, the town flooded and was moved a mile to the southwest.
In August of 1878, silver ore was discovered in the area by George Lufkin and Chris Watson. This started a frantic silver rush among all the prospectors in the area. George Lufkin sold out his claims to a man named Daly. Daly was the manager of the Sierra Grand Mining Company. In 1881, a blacksmith named John Leavitt leased a mining claim from Daly. Two days later he discovered one of the biggest lodes of silver that has ever been found. Coincidentally, the same day, Daly was killed by Apaches. Leavitt's find became known as the "Bridal Chamber." It was a hollow area in the hillside, with walls of solid horn silver. It was so pure it was shipped directly to the mint. He pulled out almost $3,000,000 worth of silver from this find. It produced over 2.5 million ounces of silver. After the discovery of the "Bridal Chamber," the town moved again.
Within a year of the discovery, Lake Valley had 4,000 residents. It had become a stage stop and railhead. But in 1893, the Silver Panic nearly ruined Lake Valley. In 1895, a fire burned Main Street to the ground and lake Valley didn't recover. There was periodic mining of manganese ore from the 1920's to the early 1950's, but then the mining stopped completely. The post office and a few residents hung on for a while. The post office closed in 1954 and the last of the residents left in 1994. Ironically, George Lufkin, the man who first discovered silver in the area, died penniless. He is buried in the Lake Valley cemetary.
Today, the Bureau of Land Management takes care of the land. There is still a 1904 schoolhouse, a church, some railroad buildings and some old houses. Lake Valley is located 17 miles south of present day Hillsboro.
