B.R. Zimmerman residence, 45 South Pine Street, circa 1890. Courtesy of B.R. Zimmerman Collection
One of Susanville’s original streets, when the town was surveyed in 1863 it was the most western street. So named for the pine trees that are on the western edge of town. An odd thing about Pine Street, it initially went from Main south to the Susanville Cemetery. What is known as North Pine Street did not come into existence for a number years, and even then it only extended to North Street. For years it was known as Prattville Road, and this was route out of town, and the next town then in existence was Prattville, which the original town no longer exists as it demolished to make way for Lake Almanor in 1914.
North Pine Street, January 1916. Courtesy of Dolores Gasperoni
Pat O’Dea, Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin
In 1919, Charles J. Mitchell arrived in Westwood like so many before and after him seeking employment. The Red River Lumber Company had high turnover in its workforce and always had openings. Little did Red River know their new hire was a famous football player. Then again, Mitchell used an alias. After all this was in an era, where few people carried any type of identification, and Social Security numbers were non-existent. Continue reading Pat O’Dea – The Kangaroo Kicker→
While T.B. Walker and his Red River Lumber Company had a profound impact on Lassen County, Leon Bly and his Eagle Lake irrigation plan ranks right up there with Walker.
The Lassen Industrial Bank was established in the spring of 1912. It met with such success that in 1914 they opened a branch at Bieber and in 1917 another branch at Fall River Mills.
With tremendous growth caused by the lumber industry, the bank built a $100,000 two-story building at the corner of Main and Gay Streets. But the good times did not last long. The bank had nearly over extended itself with loans to the farmers of Bly’s irrigation project, that had failed shortly after the tunnel was completed in 1923. This caused, the bank to start foreclosures on those farmers, and many of those properties were worthless without water. By the summer of 1928, the rumor on the streets of Susanville was in full blast, that either the bank was going to be sold, and worse yet go into bankruptcy. In early August 1928, A.P. Giannini of the Bank of America came to the aid with a $100,000 cash bail out, in which on December 1, 1928, officially took over the Lassen Industrial Bank.
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Ox teams at Amedee, 1907. Courtesy of Lola L. Tanner
Oxen, it should be duly noted, played a major role in the westward expansion of the United States. Many may have heard or read accounts of people crossing the plains and using ox teams. While oxen are not known for their speed, they can haul heavy loads of freight in difficult terrain. Locally, during the late 1800s oxen were primarily used in logging.
The last major use of ox teams in the Honey Lake Valley occurred in 1907, when the Lassen Mill & Lumber Company had major contracts for lumber for Nevada mines. Ox teams were used to haul the lumber from the sawmills near Janesville to the boat dock on Honey Lake near Buntingville. They were also used at Amedee from the boat dock to the NCO railroad station and shipped to Nevada. Thede French, Bill Wilson and Charles Randrup handled the ox teams. The oxen were needed because the ground near the boat docks was too soft for horses.
The Scottini Ranch house after their departure, circa 1901. The Robert Blair family leased it from 1895 to 1907. Left to right: Grace Wilson, Sadie Blair, Frank Blair, Bob Blair, Brina Blair Marr, George Marr, Charlie Blair, Willie Blair, Grandma Blair, Grandad Blair and the two Marr children. The house was torn down in the mid-1980s. Courtesy of Florence Stampfli
The Scottini’s were part of the earliest wave of Swiss Italians to arrive in Lassen County. In 1882, Innocenti Scottini purchased a 300 acre ranch on Gold Run from Otis Johnson for $4,000. Scottini, along with his brother, John, operated a dairy and a few mining ventures, the latter scheduled for a future post, in about a week’s time or so.
Things were not so content for Innocenti. On December 21, 1886, he filed for divorce from his wife, Nora on the grounds of adultery. He accused her of having an affair with his brother, John. Innocenti was given custody to his daughter, Mamie, and Nora of their one year old son, John. Shortly after this episode, John Scottini along with Nora and infant John left Gold Run and relocated to Butte, Montana.
In April 1889, the Scottini ranch house burned down. By May he started work on a two-story house, that remained on the property for nearly 100 years. On April 6, 1894, Scottini borrowed $6,000 from John Maxwell who secured the loan by a mortgage on the property. Shortly thereafter Scottini disappeared and in 1895 Maxwell foreclosed on the property. Many residents will know this property as the Satica Ranch.
Margaret Purdy with her trophy buck 211 pounds dressed, September 24, 1947.
Once upon a time, a person was not confined to deer hunting in a particular zone. By the 1940s with significant improvements to highways and automobiles opened a lot of territory to hunters, once the domain of locals.
The Fruit Growers Supply Company operated lumber mills in Hilt, Susanville and Westwood. While researching its history, I always came across some interesting material. Fruit Growers’ Annual Reports are a wealth of information. Before you think I am losing my sanity writing first about deer hunting and then lumber mills, there is a common thread.
The following is a most interesting excerpt from Fruit Growers’ 1946 Annual Report:
“Much of the country in which Company timber is located is considered to have good deer hunting, and the deer season opens at a time when the woods are in the driest conditions and when the fire hazard is the greatest. The handling of the large influx of people into the general Northern California area during the deer hunting season constitutes a very serious problems to all owners and agencies interested in timberlands. In 1946, hunters and their parties were registered as they entered Lassen County area, and during one week’s time, close to 5,000 automobiles and 13,000 individuals registered as potential deer hunters. Thus more hunters were checked into Lassen County than its normal population. Despite this, the Company was fortunate in its 1946 experience with forest fires.”
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Some ranches retain their original name, after the owner is long gone. A perfect is the Bare Ranch in Surprise Valley. In 1864, Thomas Bare established the ranch, sold it in 1880, and it is still known over a century later as the Bare Ranch.
The Lonkey Ranch is not one of those ranches. It was originally known as the San Francisco Ranch, the owners from that city. Lonkey was in the middle, followed by Five Dot. For those not familiar, this ranch is located approximately twelve miles north of Susanville in the Willow Creek Valley. Continue reading Lonkey Ranch→
During Red River Lumber Company’s expansion to California, they had number of hurdles to overcome. Since they would be using a different species of pine, than what they had previously used in Minnesota, they had to monumental task to educate their customers. Part of the duty fell to Archie Walker in Minneapolis, and he contacted his cousin, W.B. “Bill” Laughead, who was doing some free-lance advertising work to assist him. At this time, Paul Bunyan was a little known folklore, associated with loggers. The two came up with the idea of Paul Bunyan, and prior to this no one had rendered a drawing of the mythical logger. Continue reading Introducing Paul Bunyan→
Loading logs with a McGiffert, at McCoy Flat, 1952.
While many are familiar with McCoy Flat Reservoir along Highway 44, there is another McCoy Flat in Lassen County, This too, was named for another Tehama rancher, Leo Lewis McCoy (1850-1936) who used this area for summer pasture from 1874 to 1913. When he retired in 1913, he sold his ranch of 27,000 acres to Alden Anderson for $150,000.
For the record, this McCoy Flat is located along Pine Creek, just east of Eagle Lake. In 1952, it was the scene of the last of the railroad logging operations of the Fruit Growers Supply Company.
In 1887, two Modoc ranchers, Frank C. Dean and Wilson S. Bayley published a comprehensive 371-page brand directory entitled the Northern California and Southern Oregon Stock Directory. It was an admirable job and in the introduction, they wrote: “All Stockmen are aware that each winter, in every small section of the country, a number of stock remain unclaimed, and on the other hand a number are unfound.Continue reading 1887 Brand Directory→
