In 1923 for the first time in the nation’s history the shift of the majority of the population had moved to urban centers. A portion of this can be attributed to the effects of World War I. Many young men who served in the war did not want to return to the farm. This was especially true for those who prior to the war had a hardscrabble life in eastern Lassen County with desert homesteads.

Locally, with the establishment of the lumber mills in Susanville and Westwood brought more opportunities. In the early1930s, with the completion of the Western Pacific Railroad’s Highline, Big Valley saw a major increase of population, whereas other rural areas of Lassen slowly declined.

Tim