Category Archives: History

History

Drakesbad

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Dbad
The original Drakesbad Lodge. It was destroyed in the winter of 1937-38.

For those that have never been there, this is a hidden gem inside Lassen Volcanic National Park. It was Susanville resident, Alexander Sifford (1861-1957) who was key figure into transforming the place into a resort. However, in 1874, Thomas Malgin first settled in the upper end of the Warner Valley, and built a bath house to take advantage of Hot Springs Creek. Malgin focused more on raising sheep, than operating a remote tourist attraction.

Malgin was succeeded by Edward Drake, who in 1890 built the first lodge. His operation was simply known as Drake’s Spring. In June 1900, Susanville school teacher Alex Sifford arrived with his family as friends suggested the springs might help his ailments. Sifford was so taken away, that he negotiated to buy the place from Drake for $6,000. In 1914, for marketing purposes, the name was changed to Drakesbad. The Sifford family continued with operations until the 1950s when the last of their holdings was sold to Lassen Volcanic National Park. You can learn more by reading Roy Sifford’s memoirs  Sixty Years of Siffords: Darkesbad directly from this site.

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History

Camp Harvey

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Harvey Cookhouse
Camp Harvey Cookhouse, 1947

Camp Harvey was a railroad logging camp during the 1940s of the Red River Lumber Company and later Fruit Growers Supply Company and located approximately 20 miles east of Poison Lake.

The cookhouses in logging camps always operated at a loss. However, a cookhouse could make or a break a camp—poor food resulted in an exodus of loggers. In 1948, Fruit Growers raised the price of a meal to one dollar at Camps Harvey and Stanford, and the complaints were loud and clear. Fruit Growers instead of losing 36 cents per meal, they only lost 8 cents.

In 1949, Fruit Growers leased the cookhouses and commissaries at those two camps to H.S. Anderson Company for one dollar. Fruit Growers thought maybe an outside company could handle the operations for more efficiently. They would never find an answer.

By the end of May the cookhouse crews represented by Local 769 of the Bartenders and Culinary Workers Union walked off the job in a wage and hour dispute. Logging came to standstill. The two camps with a population of nearly 500 became ghost towns, with Robert Simons and Harry Beal remaining as caretakers. After the weeks went on and no end to the strike Fruit Growers closed down the camps permanently. In addition, they abandoned that railroad logging line.

Harvey Medic143

Tomorrow: A photo gallery of Camp Harvey

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History

Chester Causeway

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Chester Causeway
Chester Causeway

In 1925, Great Western Power Company announced its plans to enlarge Lake Almanor. The raising of the dam would flood a large portion of Chester Flats, thus flooding a number of roads, and also Red River Lumber Company logging railroad network. Controversy arose when Great Western informed the Plumas County Board of Supervisors that the road across Chester Flats would be re-routed to follow the high water contour. The residents of Chester and Westwood were furious, for such a proposal would add an additional seven miles between the two communities. They wanted a causeway in which the current route would remain the same. Great Western balked at the idea. After all, a causeway would cost Great Western $220,00, while to re-route the road would only cost $50,000. To make a long story short the opponents bypassed the Plumas County Board of Supervisors and had the State Highway Department intervene. In 1926, an agreement was made between the State and Great Western that a causeway would be constructed.

 

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Lassen Lawnmowers

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Fruit Growers Sheep

The old English proverb necessity is the mother invention was widely adopted locally. For years Fruit Growers searched for an effective way to reduce grass around its millsite for fire protection. In 1937, someone came up with the brilliant idea to bring in a band sheep to graze the mill property. Problem solved and they called the new addition to their workforce “Lassen Lawnmowers.”

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History

A Rare Giant Felled

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Ernest Cluck and Gene Goni standing at the base of the tree. Lassen County Times Nov. 8, 1978

On the front page of the Lassen County Times of November 8, 1978, there was a bit of irony one of the falling a large sugar pine tree, which running next to it a story of the Westwood Cemetery dispute involving logging.

On November 6, 1978 Ernest Cluck felled the 432 foot sugar pine tree that contained 16,000 plus board feet. It was part of timber sale that Beaty & Associates sold to Sierra Pacific of Susanville, though article failed to mention where the tree was located.

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History

Westwood Cemetery Dispute

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The dark grey, County, light is Beaty property.

This was one of the biggest stories of 1978.  It was not only an emotional issue, but a political one, too. It all began, in May, when Beaty & Associates made their intentions known that they would be logging adjacent to the cemetery, but harvesting trees in the cemetery. A group known as the Concerned Citizens of Westwood requested intervention from the Lassen County Board of Supervisors to prevent the logging in the cemetery for they feared it would be transformed into a “valley of stumps.” The County was hesitant to interfere, as they did not have the authority, as the county did not hold title to the property. It was cited even with adverse possession with the burial rights, it did not cover timber or mineral rights. Beaty later rescinded its plan to log the cemetery. Several years later, some large pine trees were removed as a safety issue. One of those trees, had a bronze marker attached to it, to memorialize the 1929 death of Fletcher “Cub” Walker Jr. who died in a airplane crash near the cemetery.

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History

When will it open?

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The park’s “Sno-go.”
The road through Lassen Park is still not open all the way through. Snow removal there is always a daunting task. This year it has been compounded not only by the heavy snowfall, but buried beneath the snow are fallen trees and rocks in the road. The last time the park road opened in July was in 2011 on the 16. And for a little bit of trivia, while the road is part of Highway 89, it is known inside the park as US 1.

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History

Doyle & Crowder Mill

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Doyle & Crowder Mill. Courtesy of Marie Herring Gould

First of all, I disclose that I do not know a lot about this sawmill, but I am working on it. The mill built around 1903, was located in what was referred to as Cannon field near the top of Doyle Grade.  It had one major customer, the Western Pacific Railroad to provide them with railroad ties while the railroad was being constructed through the region.  In 1918, due to the scarcity of machinery brought on by World War I, the Lassen Lumber & Box Company of Susanville purchased and dismantled it to build their new mill in Susanville.  In the 1950s, some people going through the old sawdust pile found several gold coins.

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