In 1910, with no substantial proof that a railroad was coming to Susanville, some of the powers to be thought the town could use a makeover. In February, the Lassen County Chamber of Commerce thought the town had a image problem. In their opinion, the town’s name should be changed with something of a more cosmopolitan flair. This was, of course, a delicate maneuver, since the town’s matriarch and namesake, Susan Roop Arnold, was still a resident of the community and had been for forty-six years. The Chamber advised her that it did not mean to be disrespectful, but felt changing the City’s name would be in the best interest of the community. The Chamber believed the town was destined to become an important city and that with name of with suffix “ville” carried a stigma, as being associated with a hamlet or village.
The City Trustees listened to Chamber’s proposal. They decided to postpone it until the March meeting. The Trustee’s appointed a committee to provide a propose name change. The group were not very creative and the best they could come up was Lassen. They cited that if the Lassen name was adopted, very few changes would have to be made. Numerous businesses and organizations had already incorporated the name into their respective establishments. The City said no, end of story.