Juniper Lake is located in the southeastern corner of Lassen Volcanic National Park. On April 1, 1914, C.P. and Cora Snell purchased 475 acres that included Juniper Lake. They eventually created a 1,500 lot subdivision. It should be noted that Lassen Park was not created until 1916. These inholdings inside the park created numerous problems for park officials.
After some thirty years of wrangling with the Snell’s Juniper Lake Resort and subdivision promotions, Lassen Park officials finally found resolution. While the park negotiated with the Snells, there was another obstacle—they had to negotiate with various owners who owned some 300 lots.
In 1957, park officials made an appeal to those lot owners to sell. This fell on proverbial deaf ears. The only way officials could overcome this impasse was to file condemnation suits. The owners were not pleased and considered it a government land grab. In the spring of 1959, forty owners, who held title to 259 lots at Juniper, were served with Notice of Intent by the park to condemn. The government’s offer was for $16,687.50, or approximately $64 per lot. It should be noted that many of those lots had been purchased for as little as $2.28 per lot at delinquent tax sales.
Ruth Pancera of Susanville was livid when she was served with the notice. She remarked how she had been “harassed” by federal officials for two years to sell her property at an “unreasonably low price.” The same sentiment was echoed by Dr. Richard Bahme of Berkeley, spokesman for the newly formed Juniper Lake Resort Owners Property Association. Bahme said, “the federal government is now attempting to buy our property at obsolete and unrealistic prices, based on what it might have cost 40. years ago, instead of its value today.” In addition, they felt discriminated against, for the suit did not affect the property owners with cabins, which numbered only a dozen.
The disgruntled owners fought, and the proceedings dragged on for five years, until the Department of Interior ultimately prevailed. It should be noted that the Dixie Fire, 2021, destroyed some of those existing cabins, and some intend to rebuild.