24-599: Success Dam is a dam across the Tule River in Tulare County , California in the United States . Serving mainly for flood control and irrigation, the dam is an earthen embankment structure 156 feet (48 m) high and 3,490 feet (1,060 m) long. The dam lies about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Porterville and impounds Lake Success , which has a capacity of 82,300 acre-feet (0.1015 km). The dam
48-641: A post office with ZIP code 93208. The population was 109 at the 2020 census, up from 97 at the 2010 census. Camp Nelson can be reached from Porterville by 33 curvy miles on California State Route 190 with an elevation gain of 4,439 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP covers an area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km ), all of it land. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to
72-404: A few cabins were added and the spot became known as Nelson’s Camp. John Nelson died August 3, 1909, aged 79. With his death, his daughter, Emma, and her husband took over the operation. In 1922, a road suitable for automobiles was completed to the camp. The camp was sold in 1937 and operated by different families over the years. Electricity reached Camp Nelson in 1951 and in the mid-1960’s, the road
96-602: A few conferences and special events in the Lodge, but it was never open to the general public. The John M Nelson Conservancy (a California non-profit public benefit corporation) was created in 1985 due to the breakup of the Camp Nelson Resort properties. The primary aim of the Conservancy was to acquire the six and a half acre Camp Nelson meadow. After raising $ 85,000 in public donations, the Conservancy acquired
120-671: A junction with a canal carrying water from the Kings River . North American beaver ( Castor canadensis ) were returned to the river for the first time in over 100 years by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Tule River tribe in June, 2024. Kenneth McDarment, a Tule River Tribe member and past tribal councilman, led the effort with CDFW to return beaver for their potential to improve habitat conditions for endangered amphibians and birds that live in
144-486: A narrow canyon. It then bends northwest, receiving Long Branch Creek from the left and Crew Creek from the right. It then forms an arm of Lake Success, which is crossed by State Route 190. From the confluence, the Tule River flows about 10 miles (16 km) south and west, still following State Route 190, to Lake Success. Before emptying into the lake, it is joined by Campbell Creek from the north, and Graham Creek from
168-591: A quake in the region. In August 2019, the 116th Congress of the United States enacted PL-116-41 which said (in part) that the Success Dam in Tulare County, California, shall hereafter be known and designated as the ‘‘Richard L. Schafer Dam’’ . Tule River The Tule River , also called Rio de San Pedro or Rio San Pedro , is a 71.4-mile (114.9 km) river in Tulare County in
192-667: A ridge facing south towards the Middle Fork Tule River drainage. It plunges southwest down a canyon in the Giant Sequoia National Monument , then is joined at the same time by Kramer Creek and Backbone Creek as it enters a broader and less inclined valley. At Milo , the river turns southeast and parallels the Springville-Milo Road. Sycamore and Whitney Creeks join the river from the east and west, respectively, before it meets
216-801: Is the terminal sink of an endorheic basin that historically also received the Kaweah and Kern Rivers as well as southern distributaries of the Kings . The Yaudanchi , also called Nutaa , of the Yokuts peoples held Tule River in the foothills, especially the North and Middle Forks. The Tule River is named for a common bulrush or cattail known as "tule". The present Tule River was named Rio de San Pedro by Moraga's expedition in 1806. On Derby's map of 1850 it appears as Tule River or Rio San Pedro . The North Fork, 18.9 miles (30.4 km) long, begins high on
240-726: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Camp Nelson has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. At the 2010 census Camp Nelson had a population of 97. The population density was 78.3 inhabitants per square mile (30.2/km ). The racial makeup of Camp Nelson was 94 (96.9%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 2 (2.1%) from other races, and 1 (1.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6 people (6.2%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one
264-549: The U.S. state of California . The river originates in the Sierra Nevada east of Porterville and consists of three forks, North, Middle and South. The North Fork and Middle Fork meet above Springville . The South Fork meets the others at Lake Success . Downstream of Success Dam , the river flows west through Porterville. The river used to empty into Tulare Lake , but its waters have been diverted for irrigation . The river reaches Tulare Lake during floods . Tulare Lake
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#1732779762872288-567: The Middle Fork at Springville. The 6.9-mile-long (11.1 km) Middle Fork is formed by the confluence of the short South Fork Middle Fork Tule River and the North Fork Middle Fork Tule River. The South Fork flows northwest and west, paralleling California State Route 190 , from its headwaters near Camp Nelson . The larger North Fork flows south from inside Sequoia National Park , plunges over North Fork of
312-636: The Middle Fork of the Tule River Falls, and flows southwest to join the South Fork. After the confluence of the North and South forks, the Middle Fork Tule River flows more or less south and southwest, parallel to State Route 190, to join the North Fork and form the Tule River. The 27.8-mile-long (44.7 km) South Fork Tule River joins the mainstem Tule River at Lake Success. The South Fork Tule River begins at 9,100 feet (2,800 m) on
336-429: The annual festival, visitors come to Camp Nelson to see the grove of Sequoias near Belknap campground. A small tungsten mine operated in the area until the 1950s. In 1886, John Nelson began to homestead land above Porterville that became Nelson’s Camp. This became a popular stopover spot for cattlemen, sheepmen, hunters, and fishermen. Nelson soon enlarged his house and remodeled it into a two-story hotel. Afterwards,
360-517: The area, including foothill and southern mountain yellow-legged frogs, western pond turtles, least Bell’s vireo and southwestern willow flycatchers. These initial releases were to two tributaries of the South Fork Tule River, Eagle Creek and Miner Creek. Camp Nelson, California Camp Nelson is a census-designated place in Tulare County, California . Camp Nelson is 12 miles (19 km) east of Springville . Camp Nelson has
384-586: The east. The South Fork of the Tule River joins the river in Lake Success. The river then exits the Success Dam and flows west into Porterville , and winds west to the former bed of Tulare Lake. It passes the cities of Tipton and Corcoran , and splits into many channels, eventually disappearing into multiple agricultural irrigation and drainage channels. The river terminates about 9 miles (14 km) east-northeast of Kettleman City in Kings County at
408-405: The foundations of the dam were unstable and that the dam would be at a high risk of failure in the event of an earthquake. In 2006, new regulations were passed that limited long-term water storage in the reservoir to 28,800 acre-feet (0.0355 km), 35% of capacity. A proposed $ 500 million project would increase the thickness of the dam by 350 feet (110 m) so that it could better withstand
432-475: The lodge. Bruce Beauchamp, an employee of Jim Hood, was acquitted of her murder on March 29, 1991. Jim Hood later shot Beauchamp to death and he was convicted of that murder in a second trial. Later, Jim Hood deeded the Lodge to his attorney, Philip Bourdette. Ron Peterson, who held the mortgage on the Lodge, foreclosed and won the proceedings. Ron Peterson sold the Lodge to Steven Huth and Mike Quatacker. The Lodge and motel were later sold to Len Aten. Aten held
456-611: The occupied units 44 (80.0%) were owner-occupied and 11 (20.0%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 17.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 25.0%. 79 people (81.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 18 people (18.6%) lived in rental housing units. Annually, the town hosts the summer Mountain Festival in the Camp Nelson Meadow, which was established through the John M. Nelson conservancy . Apart from
480-568: The western side of Slate Mountain's peak. The "Painted Rock" is a cavern under a large boulder with a remarkable set of pictographs along the South Fork Tule River, at 1,608 feet (490 m) on the Tule Indian Reservation, just above the Pigeon Creek confluence. Pigeon Creek, Blue Creek, Rocky Creek, and Bond Creek all join the South Fork Tule River mainstem near Soda Springs , then the river winds west-southwest through
504-564: Was 65 or older. The average household size was 1.76. There were 32 families (58.2% of households); the average family size was 2.16. The age distribution was 8 people (8.2%) under the age of 18, 1 people (1.0%) aged 18 to 24, 12 people (12.4%) aged 25 to 44, 40 people (41.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 36 people (37.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 60.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.1 males. There were 383 housing units at an average density of 309.2 per square mile, of
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#1732779762872528-597: Was initially authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 as part of an extensive system of dams and levees to provide flood protection in the Tulare Lake basin of the southern San Joaquin Valley . The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began construction of Success Dam in 1958 and finished in 1961, with the official dedication on May 18, 1962. The USACE found in 1999 that the alluvial deposits that form
552-481: Was institutionalized. There were 55 households, 5 (9.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 27 (49.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1 (1.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 4 (7.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 (3.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 19 households (34.5%) were one person and 8 (14.5%) had someone living alone who
576-547: Was upgraded to all year access. From 1976 to 1979, the Civil War Re-Enactment Society held Civil War skirmishes in Nelson Meadow with a "Blue and Grey" ball later at the Lodge. After some complicated financial dealings, the property and business were sold to Jim and Bonnie Hood in June 1987. In a case that attracted national attention, Bonnie Hood was murdered August 19, 1990 as she slept at
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