Peg Leg Mountain, February 1914. B.R. Zimmerman CollectionThis mountain, for those not familiar is located a short distance northeast of Westwood. In 1864, David Johnson (1815-1904), who was better known as “Peg leg”, came to California. While en-route to the Sacramento Valley, his wife, Martha, aged 35, died on October 12, 1864, at Devils Corral, Lassen County. Johnson transported her body to Mountain Meadows where he buried her, which is known as the small cemetery at the 101 Ranch.
Peg leg was known as an old time mountain man who spent his summers in this region and wintered with his family at Red Bluff. In March 1903, his son, John W. Johnson was granted guardianship of Peg leg, who had been declared insane by the Court. Peg leg had two daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Howard and Mrs. Mary Heckle. John had filed a request to sell the Mountain Meadows property for $800. The sisters contested the sale, as they cited the land was worth at least $1,400. The court approved John’s petition. Peg leg’s property was sold to W.C. Lucas and J.A. Virden for $800. On April 5, 1904, David “Peg Leg” Johnson died at the Napa Asylum for the Insane. His family brought his remains to Mountain Meadows in June and interred them next to his wife, Martha, and their twenty-nine year old son, Ralph, who died in 1884.
The two monuments.The Lassen County Courthouse dedication was not the only event to occur at the same time. For over a year, Susanville resident, Jules Alexander spear headed a fundraising drive for a new Peter Lassen’s Monument. The day before the courthouse ceremony several hundred people gathered at Peter Lassen’s grave. When the attendees arrived the new granite marker was draped in a large American flag. A supposed relation of Lassen’s, Mrs. May Lassen, who it was said was the wife of Lassen’s nephew, did the unveiling. This was followed by the obligatory speeches of local dignitaries.
Robert M. Cook, of the Lassen Weekly Mail wrote that more was needed to be done with the new monument: “The location is one of great scenic beauty and it is hoped that it can be made an official cemetery and thus secure the care of the county in keeping the grounds in first-class condition. There is no fund at present for this purpose and it will be a shame to allow the beautiful stone that has been erected to become the center of unkempt and neglected grounds.”
Oakes and Philbrook’s furniture store under construction.In 1901, two half-brothers, Tom Oakes and Alonzo Philbrook built a furniture store at 800 Main Street, which building still exist. As was customary of the day, they were also the local undertaker, since making furniture and building a coffin went hand in hand. In 1912, the building was acquired by the Bank of Lassen County which remained in the building until 1933 when it was acquired by Bank of America. It has had numerous occupants since such as the United California Bank and the Lassen County Times
In 1884, the Hurlbut mill was at the head of Main Street, MerrillvilleThe Lassen Advocate of January 12, 1884, provided their readers with a description of Merrillville:
“Every week I see something in your paper about some “ville”—Susanville, Oroville, Marysville, Janesville—but I never see anything about Merrillville. Perhaps you do not know that there is a Merrillville. For your benefit and that of the traveling public, I will describe and locate it as best I can, or at least the business portion of the town.
“At the upper end of Main Street, is the Post Office kept by P.D. Hurlbut, a very sociable businessman, who unlike most government officials, does not try to make a fortune out of his office. When not employed in his official duties, he attends to and runs his sawmill, and keeps on hand a fine assortment of the best lumber.
“From the Post Office down Main Street about two miles is the next place of business, or such I think it is to be. This is the fine new barn, the property of Ben Neuhaus and from all appearances it is to be used as a livery stable as soon as the business will pay. Ben is one of the first settlers in this town, is a fine, jovial, liberal gentleman, and I think will make a good livery man. There is nothing small about Ben—nothing whatever—and that is not his fault.
“The next place of note, one and a half miles down Main Street is the school house, a neat and well furnished building, with a stable and a board fence around the playground. On the northeast corner of this fence I am sitting as I write this. It is a very convenient place to take notes and affords a good view of the surrounding country. The schoolhouse is used for a variety of purposes, town hall, polling place, church, etc. We have church here in two weeks and everyone attends regularly. If you should visit our schoolhouse after we have had a school election, from the empty bottles around the door you would take it to be a country saloon—if you should enter you would take it for the town spittoon.
“Two miles north of the school house, or Swamp Street, is the blacksmith shop and there you will always find Orman Folsom ready at any time. A fine gentleman and one of the best mechanics in Northern California.
“From the school house down Main Street about five miles, you will find Frank Fluery’s saloon, and for ten cents he will give you enough “make you happy” to cause you to forget all your trials, troubles and tribulations for a time.
“Merrillville is situated twelve miles north of Susanville, in Willow Creek Valley and was laid out and named by Capt. Merrill after himself—leaving off the Captain and adding the “ville.”
Folsom Ranch, 1900. Courtesy of Mary Dale FolsomUnlike many rural outposts there is usually some sort of a nucleus of buildings. There is always an exception to the rule, and Merrillville is one of them. In the early 1870s,the residents of Willow Creek Valley desired mail service. It was Willow Creek blacksmith, Orman Folsom who led the movement. On April 1, 1875 the Merrillville Post Office was established at the Folsom Ranch, (Willow Creek Wildlife Unit), with Orman Folsom as postmaster. Folsom named the post office after Captain Charles A. Merrill who had recently arrived on the scene to tap Eagle Lake for reclamation. Folsom and his successors never had any intent to establish a town. The post office location changed over the years and when it was discontinued, on November 30, 1928, it was located at the Stone Ranch, Eagle Lake.
Purge Nite. Courtesy of Frank W. DavisIt is only fitting that on Labor Day that we remember the great purge of in which nearly 400 men, women and children were forced out of their homes in Westwood on July 13, 1938 over a labor dispute, one that lingers to this day. Yet, by the end of that historic day the California Highway Patrol, with the National Guard on standby placed a blockade on the community, sealing it from the world until things could stabilize. According to historian Gerald Rose about the historical significance of the purge he wrote, “Not until the 1941 deportation of Japanese-Americans was there a large forced migration of United States citizens.” To learn more about Westwood’s labor history, read Red River: The Turbulent Thirties.
Fun times at the north shore of Eagle Lake.Hope everyone is enjoying this Labor Day Weekend. Here is a little tid-bit gleaned from a 1914 Lassen County promotion, with one of its slogans: Lassen County Stands for “Opportunity.” It was duly noted that the population was less than 8,000 and the average annual income of heads of families is about $750.00.
Dodge’s Bay, Eagle Lake, 1916Before there was a completed tunnel at Eagle Lake, there was one company, the Eagle Lake Land & Irrigation Company who successfully tapped the lake and sent water flowing all the way to the Honey Lake Valley at Amedee. They did this a Hooker Hydraulic pump that had the capacity to move 60,000 gallons of water per minute. In summer of 1892, it was installed on the eastshore at Dodge’s Bay. While it was being installed, twenty-one miles of irrigation canal was constructed. On September 15, 1892, it was tested and water was sent flowing to Amedee—a reality. The company considered it a temporary measure—one to raise funds while they would embark on their own tunnel near the same location as the pumping plant. The company was so far in debt that in 1894 it was shut down. In 1903, the machinery from the plant was hauled to the Wilson sawmill near Susanville.
Lassen County Courthouse, 1922.When the Red River Lumber Company established its operations at Westwood it had a very congenial relationship with Lassen County officials. That all change in the fall of 1916 when United California Industries wanted to rent a hall in Westwood to discuss prohibition. Red River refused. A firestorm erupted by the Susanville press the Red River’s general manager, R.F. Pray. Pray was livid with the newspapers’ coverage and their commentary of the sordid affair. First, he noted, the newspapers had no right to publish the correspondence between United and Red River, as it was a private business affair not subject to public scrutiny. Pray in his rebuttal wrote, “When commencing operations on a large way in Lassen County three years ago, we informed the public and our employees that we were in engaged in the manufacturing of lumber and not in politics, that we refused participate in them, or be drawn in any political issue.” In conclusion, Pray inferred Red River did not deserve this kind of treatment recently played out in the press. After all, he reasoned, not only was Red River the county’s largest industry and it was the largest purchaser of local produce. Finally, if Red River had its way, last year they would have defeated the bond measure for a new county courthouse, reducing the company’s tax burden. Yet, Red River stayed out of the political arena and now Lassen County citizens are enjoying their modern facility that otherwise would not have materialized.
An artist sketch of the lynching.There were two men while not county employees and/or officials did reside for a time in the original courthouse. The two men, Holden Dick and Vincente Olivas aka Mexican Ben were both being held on separate murder charges and the jail was located in the courthouse. Sometime in the middle of the night on January 24, 1886, a vigilante mob broke into the jail and removed Dick and Ben to a nearby woodshed and they were lynched. They were buried in the Susanville Cemetery, their graves unmarked and Spalding Arnold was probably the last person to know the location of the graves.
Yet, unmarked graves are not the domain of paupers and such. We will visit the grave of William Minckler, County Surveyor, and while there are Susanville street signs that bear his name, his grave has no marker—and he is related to Spalding Arnold!
