Twelve Bridges, located in South Placer County in the city of Lincoln, was once home to the Valley Nisenan or southern Maidu Indians. In 1857, George R. Whitney purchased 160 acres of public domain land for what would become the Spring Valley Ranch. The Civil War brought high demand for western wool, which provided an economic incentive for the Whitneys to expand their ranch. A decade later, their holdings had grown to 13,000 acres.

By 1872, George Whitney's son, Joel Parker Whitney (known as J. Parker Whitney to locals), owned the then massive 22,000-acre Spring Valley Ranch and began building an empire and legacy in Lincoln.