It has been awhile since we last visited one of the oldest and most prominent business buildings in Susanville – the Knoch.

After the devastating fire of 1898, it was rebuilt. Ten years later, David Knoch passed away and his son, Isaac “Ike” Knoch took possession of the building. With the arrival of the “iron horse” to Susanville in 1913,  it brought tremendous growth to the region. In 1914, when Knoch proposed to add a third story, he was told it could not be done. Well, as Knoch recalled years later, “That was all I needed the word can’t.” Work on the third story was to commence shortly after Labor Day 1914, However, with the Moose Lodge proposed a harvest festival in which Main Street would be shut down for several days, the work on the third floor was postponed. When the $34,000 project was completed, Susanville also had its first elevator.

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