Sand Pass, Washoe County, Nevada, looking north at the Smoke Creek Desert, 2008.
In 1903, the Western Pacific Railway was incorporated with its main goal to build a 810 mile line from the San Francisco Bay Area to Salt Lake City. They were successful in one aspect. On November 1, 1909, the last spike was driven on Western Pacific’s line at Spanish Creek Bridge near Quincy, California. When the railroad was incorporated, it proposed to build twelve branch lines. These “feeder” lines were extremely important to generate rail traffic, which would provide necessary revenue for the fledging railroad. One of these proposed lines called for a Surprise Valley Railroad. Continue reading Surprise Valley Railroad – Part I→
The water carnival at the Sunkist Lodge, 1921. Courtesy of Ed Standard
For two years, 1921 and 1922, the big three lumber companies, Fruit Growers Supply Company, Lassen Lumber & Box Company, and the Red River Lumber Company held a competitive swimming meet between their respective employees. Continue reading Eagle Lake’s Water Carnival→
Shortly after midnight on August 5, 1915, a fire was discovered in Emerson’s warehouse on Cottage Street, adjacent to the Methodist Church. The warehouse, it should be noted, was originally the Congregational Church built in 1875. By the time the fire was spotted the building was totally engulfed in flames. The fire spread rapidly due to west winds, sending embers across the alley and igniting the Emerson Hotel, located on the corner of Main and South Lassen Streets. Two adjacent buildings facing on Lassen Street–The Hyer Hotel and the Methodist Church–also caught on fire. When it was realized that it was futile to try and save the buildings, all efforts were focused on keeping it contained. The losses were staggering, estimated at over $250,000.
Years later, Charlie Emerson’s daughter Mae, recalled the tragic event: “I was home for summer vacation from college when the hotel burned on my father’s birthday and stood with his arm around me in the middle of the street and watched it go with all our worldly possessions and Dad’s business records of years destroyed.”
On August 4, 1984 some 500 members of the fraternal organization known as E Clampus Vitus descended upon Susanville. The occasion was the chartering of the Neversweat Chapter #1863 of the E Clampus Vitus and the dedication of the Pioneer, the oldest establishment in Northeastern California. The organization has been around since days of the California gold rush, and was a spoof on the more refined fraternal organizations of the day. In the 1930s it went through a revival and focused on marking historical sites and having a good time while doing so. The Neversweat Chapter was not the first for Susanville, as a lodge existed in 1868. In the early 1880s there were several lodges in Modoc County.
Back to that day at hand, the Lassen Advocate summed it by reporting, “By 7:30 a.m. most area residents were awakening for breakfast and routine Saturday tasks, the revelry at the Pioneer was already in full swing. Clampers were 3 to 4 deep at the bar, the beer was flowing and festive mood in the air. The celebrants began arriving at 6:00 a.m. and spilled from the sidewalk into the eastbound lanes of Main Street. Traffic was undoubtedly light during the early morning celebration.”
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The flooded dairy, April 1938. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal
In 1909, Cy Houghton arrived in Lassen County. After the establishment of Westwood, Cy went to work for the Red River Lumber Company. In 1934, he located to Susanville and opened a dairy, which is now Memorial Park. In 1938, the dairy received extensive damage from the Piute Creek flood. At one point he considered abandoning the dairy, but changed his mind. In 1942, Cy’s Dairy closed for business. Not one to be idle, Cy later went to work for Sierra Army Depot and retired from the place in 1957.
Another view. Most people know this site today as Susanville Supermarket. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal
Western Pacific’s Mohallo Siding, south of Lake Almanor, July 18, 1931. Courtesy of Plumas County Museum
Lassen County was rather fortunate that it was not hit as hard as other places throughout the nation during the great depression of the 1930s. Yes, times were tough, but then again there were no Hoovervilles either. While the majority of the lumber mills on the West Coast closed, Lassen’s three mills-Fruit Growers Supply Company, Lassen Lumber & Box Company and the Red River Lumber Company remained open, though operations were curtailed. Those company executives understood the value of their employees. Sooner or later the economy would rebound, and they did the best they could under the circumstances to retain their skilled employees, rather than having to start all over again to re-train new ones at a critical time.
In Big Valley it was boom times. They were at the center of one of the last major railroad construction projects in the country. This was the Northern California Extension wherein the the Western Pacific extended its line north from Keddie to Bieber, to meet with the Great Northern who built their line south from Klamath Falls, Oregon. This opened a whole new rail corridor completed in 1931. In the future, I will do a piece on the Golden Spike Ceremony at Bieber.
This is one of the few times during the year in which I ask for you to consider supporting this site either by donation or subscription. I am very grateful for those who do, but the reality is they makes up less than .005% of the readership. I am flattered that readership continues to grow, now with an average of 10,000 a month. So taking a popular saying of the 1930s, “Buddy can you spare a dime?” For as a little as five dollars a month, you can subscribe and support this endeavor to not only assist to preserve the region’s history, but equally important to make it available. It is so easy, click here for the details. Don’t want to do an internet transaction, information is provided do so by mail, etc. Thank you.
The Belfast District. Courtesy of Bernard McCallister
In the 1870s, Captain C.A. Merrill began work on tapping Eagle Lake for irrigation in the Honey Lake Valley. Where Willow Creek enters the Honey Lake Valley he envisioned a great city there, he named Belfast. In the 1880s, he declared Belfast was destined to become a great commercial center, a city initially serving 25,000 people. One of his many proposals was the establishment of a lumber mill there. The source of timber was the Eagle Lake basin, which the logs would be floated across the lake and down a flume to Belfast. However, not much ever materialized.
In 1912, the Red River Lumber Company was in a hurry to establish a lumber mill in Lassen County. Fletcher Walker liked the Mountain Meadows location. No one else did.The problem was the winter weather was not conducive for much. Clinton Walker suggested Belfast, it had ample water, far removed from other communities and the future employees could even grow gardens. However, family patriarch, T.B. Walker, nixed that idea, as it was too far removed from the timber, thus added costs to transport logs to the mill. T.B. Walker was not keen on the Mountain Meadows site, but when Fletcher stated he would leave the company if Mountain Meadows was not selected. So much for a Belfast revival, and the town of Westwood was created over a temper tantrum.
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Log landing at Coyote Hole, August 21, 1953. Courtesy of Hank Martinez
In 1940, Fruit Growers purchased its first fleet of logging trucks for the Lassen Operation (Susanville). Initially, the trucks hauled logs where it was impractical to construct a railroad logging spur. With improvements with trucks and a system of private logging roads, it was just a matter of time, when the logging trucks would make railroad logging obsolete. In 1952, the event happened, and saw the last year of railroad logging of Fruit Growers and Lassen County.
Lunch time at Dow Butte, August 21, 1953. Courtesy of Hank MartinezThe record load of 26,860 board feet being unloaded at the Fruit Growers millpond, Susanville, August 21, 1953. Courtesy of Hank Martinez
Incorporated in 1890, the Honey Lake Valley Land & Water Company proposed the construction of a dam on Long Valley Creek to reclaim the desert lands of the eastern Honey Lake Valley. The dam and reservoir site was situated on lands adjacent to that of Long Valley pioneer George Greeno (1817-1902). In the summer of 1892, work began on the dam—90 feet high, spanning a 1,000 feet with a 500-foot wide base. It was estimated that the reservoir would have a storage capacity of 1,281 acres, at an average depth of 14 feet. The project had its skeptics, especially with the regional dam failures of 1890—those of Ward Lake and Skedaddle. The Lassen Advocate noted in October 1892: “The great interest centers in the permanency and holding capacity of the storage reservoir. Will it withstand the winter torrents and the rush of spring freshets? Will it successfully defy the incursions of insidious rodents and stand firm against the pressure of the floods? When the location of the dam is taken into consideration, the scientific, practical and thorough nature of its construction gives conclusive evidence that it will prove permanent.” The Advocate concluded “It has been filled little at a time by fine quality of clay, water poured upon it and then puddle by means of horses, which renders it impervious to water.” The region experienced an unusual amount of heavy fall rains that added a considerable amount of water to the nearly completed reservoir—a delight to many. In late November 1892, the area was hit a deluge, an estimated seven and half inches of rain fell at the dam site alone! The floods from Long Valley Creek breached the dam and left a gaping hole 100 feet wide. The damage was estimated at $50,000. The Company had invested over $175,000 in the project and never recovered from that loss. The Company’s manager, president and owner Fred Lake remained committed to the project until his death in 1942.
