Durbin Nursery

Durbin Nursery. Courtesy of Dick & Helen Harrison
Durbin Nursery. Courtesy of Dick & Helen Harrison

In 1928, the Lassen National Forest Service leased seven acres from Lassen County on Richmond Road for a tree nursery. It was originally named the Susanville Nursery. The name was changed in 1932, when  William G. Durbin, the Lassen National Forest Supervisor retired after ten years on the Lassen.  C.W. Corson, a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota has hired to be in charge of it.  It was their goal to raise 750,000 of pine seedlings over a five year period. In addition, experiments were done with cedar, fir and sequoia.

The first planting was done in 1930 to assist the reforestation of the  burn on Antelope Mountain west of Eagle Lake. In addition the nursery provided seedlings to the various national forest service throughout California. It was unique that it was only large Forest Service nursery in California. In 1936, after the establishment of Lassen College’s Forestry program many of those students worked at Durbin Nursery.

Unfortunately, I do not at this time, have a date when the nursery ceased operation, but it appears sometime in the early 1950s.  The property is best known today as Diamond View School.

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