In 1863, the Plumas County Board of Supevisors approved the formation of the Susanville School District—Lassen County was not in existence. A site for the school was selected at Cottage Street, near Weatherlow. All these years later this property has always been used for public educational purposes. The original school structure was a very modest one, and as the community grew, so did the need to expand the school. In 1873, L.J. Abel and George Barley constructed a two-story schoolhouse for $3,025, one the site of the first school. It would meet the community’s need until the arrival of the next century. It was.