When Alex Sifford purchased Drakes Springs (now Drakesbad) in 1900 he did not envision that he would own it for decades to come. When the Lassen Peak eruptions began to occur in 1914, he was overwhelmed with visitors, since his resort was nearest to the mountain. In 1917, Sifford retired as a Susanville school teacher and was eligible to collect a pension of $500 a year. . He was at a crossroad as to what to do with Drakesbad. With Lassen Peak’s continuous eruptions, it became a burden to operate Drakesbad. Sifford offered to lease it to the national park service, but since it was private property, it could not.
Then there was World War I, in which son Roy was drafted. Alex, not knowing the outcome, persevered with the operations of Drakesbad. In March 1919, Roy was discharged from the Army and it was Roy’s great pleasure to assist his parents for the summer season at Drakesbad. A family meeting was held, whereby Alex informally turned over the ownership of Drakesbad. (It was until 1931, that Alex and Ida Sifford deeded the Drakesbad property to their two children, Pearl and Roy.
While Roy managed Drakesbad, while Alex milked the cows and took care of the saddle horses, he was still in charge. In 1925, Congressman John Raker struck a deal with Alex to sale Drakesbad to Lassen Park. Sifford would be paid $150,000 lump sum tax free payment. Congressman Raker died in January 1926, was not able to get Congressional funding. and deal was null and void. It was not until the 1950s the Siffords entered into agreement to sale it national park service.