A view of Westwood with Keddie Ridge in the background,, Dyer Mountain is northern post on Keddie Ridge. It is also where to Sierra Nevada ends and the Southern Cascades begins. 1955.
On November 7, 2000 the Lassen County voters approved a contentious ballot initiative to amend the county’s General Plan, Zoning Ordinance and the Westwood Area Plan to allow the development of a four-season resort near Westwood known as Dyer Mountain. It was proposed to build three golf courses, ski runs, along with thousands of houses, condos along with commercial retail projects. It became a heated issue fought by environmental groups. Plagued with financial and legal issues the project was derailed.
Looking north of Wendell during the change to from narrow to broad gauge.–Jack Bowden
Wendel one of those railroad communities that in early years had an identity crisis. It was first known as Upper Hot Springs to distinguish of Lower Hot Springs five miles to the south. The later became known in Amedee in 1890,, when the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NC0)extended its line there. In 1899 the NC0 extended its line, the small station there originally called Smithon, though general usage was Hot Springs Station. Since it was close proximity to Amedee it was hampered any type development. In 1913 Southern Pacific’s Fernely & Lassen Branch crossed the NCO tracks at Hot Springs with little fanfare. It should noted that in 1915, Wendel designation applied to railroad stations and the post office.
Wendel Store, circa 1925. Courtesy of Alda Riesenman
Changes were on the horizon. In 1922, Wendel became NCO terminus. A couple years later, Southern Pacific purchased beleaguered NCO. Then on July 1, 1927 800 railroad workers descended there to broad gauge the narrow gauge. For some time, there was hub of activity at Wendel. Then in the fall of 1929 J.E.Faustino recorded the Wendel townsite. Susanville’s Lassen Mail newspaper went on the Wendel bandwagon during the spring of 1930 and published statement: “Certain people may prefer to scoff at Wendel as a possible metropolis of the plains, but the fact that there is more than sagebrush down there has been proven throughout past two weeks. There is good fortune in Wendel, and farsighted people will soon be watching this place to see what happens.”
It is Election Day. So herewith is a local election story. In 1910, Charlie Emerson was in a heated race to retain the office of Sheriff of Lassen County. His calling card was rather unique and very interesting. Below, is what appeared on the reverse side. Continue reading Election Season – 1910→
100 North Roop Street, January 1916, built in 1908.
Over this past Labor Day Weekend I had receive an inquiry from a person wanting to know if the information when a home was constructed as listed per Zillow was correct.
This got me interested in what other erroneous material realtors have in their listings. According to the online listings 1940 was a banner year for both commercial and residential construction. In 2015, the listing for 506 Cottage Street, the real estate listing states it was built in 1940. However, it was built in 1889 for A.E. DeForest. It should be noted that this property is now on the market again. In that same year, further down Cottage Street at 705, the current home of Woodies Goodies the real estate listing stated that it was built in 1965. For many a seasoned resident can clearly dispute that, as it was built in 1946 for Williams Furniture.
The list goes on and there are some real extreme ones out there. As the old saying goes, “buyer beware.”
Standish Branch of the Bank of Lassen County inside the Wrede Hotel
For a time, Standish was a very prosperous community in the Honey Lake Valley. Not only did it have numerous businesses, but a hotel, and a creamery, too. Everything was so good, in fact, that it even had its own financial institution.
In 1892, the Bank of Lassen County was established in Susanville, the first of its kind in Lassen County. In the spring of 1915, the bank announced it was going to open its first branch in Standish. However, it encountered some delays, especially with the installation of big safe, inside the Wrede Hotel, where the branch office would be located. On August 30, 1915, the branch opened with W.H. “Wally” Fulton, as the manager. Fulton had a long association with the financial institution, and equally important was well-known in the Standish region, having been married to Kathryn Mapes. The Standish Branch operated for ten years, closing its doors on December 31, 1925.
Wally Fulton later moved to Susanville and in 1933 became the City’s Treasurer. He remained in that position until his untimely death in 1941 by suicide. He used a gun in the city vault, and waited until the noon whistle from the Fruit Growers mill to mute the sound of the gun shot.
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Since Election Day is upon us, I thought I do a piece on some early election history. Just as a region was dotted with rural one-room schools and post offices, there was another feature–voting precincts. Like schools and post offices it only made sense. To create a voting precinct was simple process. One petitioned the County Board of Supervisors.
On September 29, 1886 a petition was submitted to the board for the creation of the Tule Lake precinct. It contained nine signatures. The proposed boundary was in the very far northeastern corner of Lassen County, the area known as the very southern end of Surprise Valley. The Board obliged and the voting precinct was established.
It was on Christmas Day, 1925 when the Saint Francis Hotel in Susanville opened its doors to its west wing expansion. Work began in September. While it only added an additional nine guest rooms, six with private baths, it allowed more complimentary features. Not only were the lobby and restaurant facilities more than doubled in size, adorning the top floor on the Main Street side was a balcony. The balcony was removed by the Goni family in the 1950s.
Sometime back I wrote how Brashear Street came to be. I did note that I would do a follow up on the Brashear Tract, one of Susanville’s smallest subdivisions. For a little background. In 1863, when the town plat was made the only blocks that were subdivided into individual lots were those with Main Street frontage.
The Brashear Residence on the corner of South Lassen & Brashear Streets. Taken on June 11, 1979 when the house was being torn down.
In 1911, with railroad rumors swirling that Susanville would be serviced by the Iron Horse caused a subdivision frenzy. Z.W. Scott was the real estate agent for the Brashear Tract. Scott advertised the unique qualities of this small tract–there was the commanding views and its close proximity to everything. After all, it was one block from the Lassen County Courthouse and only two blocks from the business district. These choice and limited lots featured something unheard in Susanville. To guarantee the tract would be desirable it was stipulated that all homes constructed would require an expenditure of at least $1,000.
Having spent decades in Lassen County cemeteries I have encountered a lot of interesting objects and some interesting people, too.
This story is about the Lassen Cemetery in Susanville. In 1978 I did a headstone inventory. In the fall of 2006 I did an updated inventory. The above marker for Vlaad Eifilhar did not appear in 1978. Notice the dates 1561-1662. This metal marker was common in the 1930s. A few years later I went back to the site to take a better photograph. Alas, it was gone.
In the spring of 1882, Hiram Dakin and Hiram McCellan proprietors of the Milford Flour Mill began making plans to build a new mill. After all, the Milford one was constructed in 1861, and it had outlived its purpose.
The first order of business was where to build the new mill—Buntingville or Janesville. Buntingville was just beginning to flourish, it being a popular stop for travelers heading north to Modoc County. After careful consideration Janesville emerged as victor.
On June 8, 1882, construction of the three-story structure began on Main Street, a just a little north of the prominent large oak tree that still remains. When the mill was placed into operation in September, the residents knew it—at seven a.m. every morning the steam whistle blew. In 1886, J.K. Gehring purchased the enterprise known as Honey Lake Mills for $6,000. In 1918, Gehring closed the mill, he being 81 years old, and with the new Honey Lake mill in Susanville, no buyers were interested. In the early 1920s, the mill was dismantled and James H. McClelland purchased the lumber to use on his ranch.
