Lassen County, in many ways, did not experience the harshest aspects of the nation’s financial depression of the 1930s. This is not to infer that all was good. Many of the ranchers were still self sufficient for many of their needs. While the sawmills did curtail operations, they continued to operate, where numerous mills on the Pacific Coast closed. Lassen County also benefited from one of the last major railroad construction projects in the nation, the Inside Gateway linking the Western Pacific Railroad with the Great Northern at Bieber.  For Big Valley it was a prosperous era.

However, there were some residents who were very marginalized and did whatever they could to make ends meet. There was some money to be made in selling scrap metal. Take for instance, some unknown parties ransacked the abandoned tugboat on the shore of Honey Lake and removed the engine and any other metal component. At Bly’s Eagle Lake tunnel the light rail and ore cars used in the excavation disappeared, too. Depending upon one’s perspective today, the scavengers either did a good job of cleaning up the environment or the opposite spectrum, those who like to examine old relics might be dismayed.

Support by subscribing.