Category Archives: History

History

The Early History of Terminal Geyser

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Terminal Geyser, 1960—Tom Glunt

Terminal Geyser, is a odd hydrothermal feature in Lassen Volcanic National Park,  located southeast of Boiling Springs Lake and Drakesbad.

In 1874, Dr. H.W. Harkness, who had come to inspect Cinder Cone, also paid Terminal Geyser a visit and wrote, “This geyser is ejecting boiling water to the height of ten feet.”  Harkness’ guide informed him that it originally had a height of twenty to twenty-five feet. The guide did not elaborate on what caused the reduction of the geyser’s eruption.

In June 1890, a Chico Enterprise correspondent provided this
observation: “The old geyser above Willow Lake which will be
remembered by many tourists, is now extinct. Every sign of steam, hot water or eruption has gone. This geyser has been in active operation perhaps for hundreds of years. It may be that it will break out with renewed force, or appear in some other place.”

Another visitor to the geyser in July 1897 wrote: “The water in this spring used to spout to a height of 16 feet, but now rises but 2 or 3 feet. It is said somebody rolled a large rock off the mountain into it, spoiling one of the best wonders of that section.”

During the 1920s and 1930s, Clinton Walker, one of the owners of the property, became distressed over visitors throwing rocks into the geyser, disturbing the eruptions.  It may be from these various accounts that someone finally applied the name “terminal” to this feature.

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History, News

A Surprise Tuesday Tidbit – Mile High Mill

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Honey Lake Feed, 21 October 1978

Honey Lake Feed located on Richmond Road, Susanville was the last of locally grown wheat/milled flour which the flour mill portion ceased in the 1940s. The building was destroyed by fire in the early 1980s.

I am pleased to introduce Mile High Mill & Grain Company located on Sunset Ranch near Ravendale. One can now obtain locally organic grown milled flour!  The owners Tom and Andrea Traphagan has graciously extended yours truly to tour the facility, in which I will do a follow up later this spring.

In the meantime, you can learn a whole lot more by checking out their website at  Mile High Mill

Tim

History

Homestead Act of 1862

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Robert & Mabel Barham homestead near Standish, 1903—Helen Rice

On May 20, 1862 President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862. It was part of the nation’s westward expansion and made filing on government lands easier. A great deal of the American West was settled in this manner, this region was no exception.

For a small registration fee, one could file on 160 acres of government land. After making improvements, and making it your primary residence one could acquire the title to the land at a cost of $1.25 per acre. By 1934, 270 million acres of government land had been transferred through this act. It remained on the books until it was finally repealed in 1976.

The Zarbock homestead. Carl R. Caudle Collection

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History

Fruit Growers Silver Lining

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Fruit Growers Susanville Box Factory as it appeared the day it opened on April 9, 1921—Ed Standard

Yesterday, I briefly mentioned that during the Great Depression that some of the grower members wanted to sell the Susanville mill. Some thought the cost was excessive, after all the growers passed a four million dollar bond to finance the construction of the mill and to purchase a billion board feet of timberland in 1919. At that time the growers agreed to assess themselves two cents per box. In addition to the assessment, for every 1,000 board feet of lumber , four dollars was budgeted to pay off the bonds, generating $300,000 annually. In 1934 Fruit Growers paid off the bonds, two years ahead of schedule and its Lassen Operation was debt free!

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History

Fruit Growers Dilemma

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Fruit Growers’ Susanville mill.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s Fruit Growers like so many sawmill operators on the West Coast had the debate whether to close their mills at Hilt and Susanville. This after all, with the realization that Fruit Growers could buy wooden boxes cheaper than they could manufacture.  One other alternative was not just close the Susanville, but sell it.

The final decision was to keep the mills open. It would be costly, but Fruit Growers understood the long-term implications. If they closed the mills, they would lose many valuable employees and would be forced to start over once the economy rebounded. Logging operations at both Hilt and Susanville were suspended that year. At Hilt 1932 witnessed the end of railroad logging there. In addition in 1932, the Susanville mill operations were scaled back to a five-day week, rather than six to avoid layoffs. The decision paid off in the long run and were still able to meet the needs of the grower members.

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History

The Vanishing Windmill

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January 26, 2020

Bringing electricity to the Honey Lake Valley was a long, slow process that began in the 1920s. When power finally did arrive, it brought about the slow demise of the windmill. Phil Hall (1909-1996) and a native of Long Valley,  commented that there were at least fifty windmills between Susanville and Doyle. Hall’s statement came from a 1989 conversation with another old time rancher, Claude Harwood. In response to Phil’s comment, Claude stated that they did not have power from Buntingville to Milford until 1938. Claude continued after that, people stopped using them. Phil added the abandoned windmills also became victims of wind, blowing them down.

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History

A Perrenial Flooding Problem Solved

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Looking east on Main Street, from Lassen High School, 1908.

Since time immemorial the lower end of Piute Creek naturally flooded. Where today’s Memorial Park is located there were two channels of the creek. In 1920s, this area was purposely flooded in the winter to allow for ice-skating. With the construction of Lassen High School, fill was brought in to start filling the low lying bottom areas near the creek. As more development continued in that area, saw more fill, thus obstructing the natural flow of the creek. When Memorial Park was created in 1947, it eliminated one of the natural channels of the creek.

Piute Creek flood of April 9, 1938. Courtesy of Margaret A. Purdy

In 1916 the bridge across Piute Creek on Main Creek was replaced with a culvert. During the winter and spring time. when the water was high debris would find its way down the creek and block the culvert, thus flooding the area of Memorial Park and vicinity. It was not until 1998 that the culvert issue modified and no more flooding.

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History

Westwood’s Opera House

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Westwood’s Opera House under construction—David Zoller

One of the daunting task when Red River Lumber Company built its company town of Westwood, during 1912-14, was they would need to provide recreational outlets for their employees.  One of Red River’s first entertainment venues for its employees was dubbed the Opera House. It was a multi-purpose facility, though it never showcased an opera. The Opera House had a seating capacity of 600 and was the initial hub of social gatherings. It was regularly used as a movie theater and the scene of special events such as boxing matches. It was also the home for church services for several years until the People’s Church was built. In time, the Opera House was just too small as the town’s population continued to increase. In 1925, a new theater was constructed with a seating capacity of 1,100. The Opera House was converted into a store and made part of the adjoining facility known as the Westwood Club.

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History

Susanville’s First Baptist Church

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First Baptist Church, Nevada & Gay Streets, Susanville

On October 14, 1905 the Baptists held their first service at the home of the Reverend J.C. Long. The Baptists had been holding services in the Honey Lake Valley since 1873, and built a church in Johnstonville in 1889.  Initially the Susanville services were held in someone’s home.  As the congregation grew in 1913 they purchased a lot on the northwest corner of Nevada and Gay Streets.  Shortly thereafter work began on the construction of a church and on February 20, 1914 a open public house was held.

In 1984 the congregation voted to leave the American Baptist denomination and joined the Evangelical Free Churches of America. At that time it was renamed the Community Evangelical Church of Susanville.

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History

Wendel By Another Name

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Wendel Depot. Courtesy of Aldah Riesenman

There were actually two stations on the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) named Wendel. The first Wendel station came about in 1911 and was located between New Pine Creek and Lakeview, Oregon. It was a very short-lived operation.

Wendel in Lassen County was not designated until 1915. For years the NCO referred to that place as Hot Springs. Yet, the post office there established in 1902, was named Purser, after Edward T. Purser a nearby rancher who developed Ward Lake to irrigate this property.

In 1912-13 with the construction of the Southern Pacific’s Fernley & Lassen Railroad, they named their station there as Caloreta. This created a great deal of confusion. The NCO designation of Hot Springs, the postal authorities as Purser and the Southern Pacific as Caloreta. In 1915, all three entities agreed to name it Wendel.  It was so named after Charles deWendel, who was not only an investor in the NCO, but friends with the Moran family who owned the NCO.

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