The Poso de Chane was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862 , when a deep channel was cut draining the pool . The surrounding land , gardens , vines and trees died , turning it into a desolate location to be supplied with water only by digging wells . The settlement lingered , for a time as a center for sheepmen and sheepshearing , into the 1870s . In 1875 , Gustave Kreyenhagen , came to Poso and started a small store and hotel there . At that time there were only a half-dozen American families living there . The rest were Californios or Mexicans living mostly in the mountains or in stockmen 's camps at the few watering places . He also went into the sheep and cattle business building a sheep-shearing station that handled as many as 150,000 sheep in the public corral . Gustave was also the first to begin raising grain on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in Fresno County . His sons raised working on the land owned by Gustave went into the cattle business , forming their own company Kreyenhagens , Incorporated , that became the largest cattle company in Fresno county . They raised both sheep and cattle , but later gave up sheep and only raised cattle south of Coalinga
Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
Poso de Chane, California