In 1920, Grass Valley business man W.H. Tuttle purchased the Pioneer Saloon, Susanville’s oldest business. For many this was something a deranged person might do, since the nation’s prohibition of alcohol had just been implemented. Not only that, Tuttle announced he was going to replace the old wooden structure with a two-story concrete one.
To make up for the lost revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages Tuttle branched out into the wholesale mercantile trade. In a very short time this enterprise turned out to be very lucrative, he specialized as a distributor of tobacco products and candy. In 1929, he sold the Pioneer Mercantile Company to John Solari and M.A. Griffin. After the repeal of prohibition the mercantile aspect continued until the late 1970s.