This is a tale of two Susans—Susan Parker Nobles and Susan Roop Arnold. While the two women never met, one has a river named for one Susan and the other a town, i.e. Susan River and Susanville.
First we begin with Susan River. During the years 1851-1852, William H. Nobles located a new emigrant road from Shasta, California to Lassen’s Meadows, Nevada. This road passed through the Honey Lake Valley. Nobles named the Susan River for his wife, Susan Parker Nobles. Very little is known about Susan Nobles. She resided in Minnesota for the majority of her married life, only moving to California when her husband, Nobles, died in 1876.
Susanville was officially named on March 17, 1859 when the Susanville Post Office was established with Isaac Roop the first postmaster. It was so named after Roop’s daughter, Susan. When her father came to California in 1850, she was left in care of her maternal grandparents. In 1862, at the age of nineteen, Susan left her grandparents home in Ohio and moved to California to be with her father. On December 27, 1864, Susan married Alexander T. Arnold and spent the rest of her life in the community that was named after her. She passed away on July 22, 1921, at the age of 79.