Longville was one of many Plumas County mining communities, some of which have connections over the mountain in Lassen County. One of those forgotten places was Longville located in Humbug Valley. This valley is located a bit south and west of Lake Almanor. It is a picturesque meadow surrounding by pine trees.
The settlement began there in 1855, when B.K. Ervine and William B. Long used the valley for stock-range. Two years later, gold was discovered and set off a flurry of mining operations. Long and his father-in-law, Allen Wood, built a hotel, and a sawmill mill, too, and thus the town of Longville came into existence. In 1862, Long came to Susanville and purchased William Weatherlow’s ranch, known today as Susanville Ranch Park.
In 1856, Andrew Miller made a permanent home at Humbug Valley, He did stray on occasions. In 1863, he ventured over to Susanville for awhile and with Rufus Kingsley constructed the first native-stone building, the site being the current location of Margie’s Book Nook. After his brief stay in Susanville he returned back to Humbug. However, in 1874, he was appointed Receiver of the Government Land Office in Susanville, and remained in that position until 1886. The Government Land Office was the only federal office in Lassen County, and today is known as the Bureau of Land Management. Miller once again returned to Humbug where he remained until his passing in 1903 and is buried in Susanville.
Longville, like so many rural communities, suffered from the effects of World War I, and it quickly depopulated. Its post office, which Andrew Miller established in 1861, closed in 1918.
It should be noted that Long and Miller descendants still reside in the Susanville. It was Miller’s grandson, Claude Heard, who established Heard’s Market, a focal point for decades in Litchfield, but now closed.