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Category Archives: History
Grasshopper Valley – Lassen County
The Philip Goumaz ranch was located five miles north of the J.C. York place in Grasshopper Valley. He bought it from Charles McClelland and moved his family from Susanville to here in the spring of 1888.
At the foot of the hill, in back of the house was a fine cold spring. The mail and passenger stage went from Susanville to Bieber in one day and back the next. In later years the change of stage horses were kept at the Goumaz ranch and the driver and passengers ate the noon meal there.
One year the grasshoppers were so thick, a person would kill several taking one step. They ate the leaves off the willows along the creek. When they began eating the standing hay, my father cut it earlier than usual. They ate quite a lot of the hay, so we found out why the valley was named Grasshopper.
There were several other ranches located in the valley. About one mile north from us was the Shanklin ranch. In later years, it was sold to Antone Gerig. Adjoining the Shanklin ranch was the Frank Loveland place. Philip Goumaz sold his place to Bailey, DeWitt and Theodore of the Honey Lake Valley in 1905 and returned to Susanville.
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Willow Creek Valley, 1915
“Willow Creek Valley is situated about ten miles north of Susanville and contains some 15,000 acres of agricultural and meadow land. Here is an abundance of water for irrigation, derived from Willow Creek, which heads hear Eagle Lake and flows through the valley on its way to Honey Lake and from Round Valley Reservoir, situated in the mountains south of the valley. Its principal industry is stock raising, although considerable grain and alfalfa is grown and on the north side in the rich peat land vegetables grow to perfection.”
This is a continuation of excerpts from spring the pamphlet entitled Lucky Land of Lassen that was produced and distributed at the Panama Pacific International Exposition that was held in San Francisco during 1915.
“Willow Creek Valley is situated about ten miles north of Susanville and contains some 15,000 acres of agricultural and meadow land. Here is an abundance of water for irrigation, derived from Willow Creek, which heads hear Eagle Lake and flows through the valley on its way to Honey Lake and from Round Valley Reservoir, situated in the mountains south of the valley. Its principal industry is stock raising, although considerable grain and alfalfa is grown and on the north side in the rich peat land vegetables grow to perfection.”
The Honey Lake Homestead
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A wordsmith’s tale
After a long pause the CWA director threw up his hands and said “You win,” smiling he continued, “You get what you came after.” The bottom line, the districts use of lowering the intake, did not necessarily relate to lowering the lake. With that the government gave the districts $25,000 worth of labor and materials for lowering the intake.
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Changing Times
This added fuel to the debate that the area’s economy needed to diversify, for one day the sawmill industry would become a thing of the past. This opened the subject for debate about attracting a state prison to the area.
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Westwood Theater
The Westwood Theater was not entirely dependent upon films originating from Hollywood. On occasions, the local residents were able to see themselves on the big screen. In the spring of 1921 the Anita Stewart Company had a contract to film the Great Western Power Company’s operations at Butt Valley. The film company while there used the opportunity to film Red River’s operations. In August, Stewart’s film of Red River’s activities made its debut at the Opera House. As one reviewer duly noted: “The film is a good reproduction of the many plant activities and the town of Westwood in general. It may need a little censorship before it is ready to go to the general public. One street scene shows the block wagon pounding along, evidently on a hurry-up trip to keep home fires burning. A little behind is the garbage wagon doing its part to make Westwood a rival of spotless town. These little details have been already enjoyed by the “home folks” but when it comes to a general public proposition it is not desirable to give undue prominence to these very necessary activities.”
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Bank of Lassen County
Established in 1892, it was Lassen County’s first financial institution. Wells Fargo operated infrequently, mainly during the 1870s and 1880s, in Bieber and Susanville, but their services were limited. During the late 1800s, Susanville’s Jewish merchants, such as Marcus Nathan, David Knoch and William Greehn, lent money to those in need and the loan was secured usually by a property mortgage. It was a wide array of citizens who saw the need for a bank, including the aforementioned merchants. Its first office location, was unique, located in the Pioneer, a local saloon established in 1863, and still in existence today. It was simple logic, as Susanville’s business district was prone to devastating fires, and the saloon owned the largest fire proof safe in town.
Hot Springs Mining District
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Lassen High, 1941-42
“The citizen you will be in 1951 is determined by the kind of citizen you are in 1941. Today you are building character, formulating attitudes, developing habits which will characterize you, henceforth. Build substantially, build nobly, build beautifully. Practice courtesy, courage, comradeship and cooperation.”
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