All things considered, since Standish started as a planned utopian community that eventually failed, there was that bit of original quirkeness that prevailed for years, after the demise of the failed experiment. Case in point, when the Fernley & Lassen Railroad surveyed and later constructed the railroad north of the town in 1913, it was not a big issue. It was odd. Other communities would have lobbied hard to have a railroad come into their town. Not Standish. When Ben Gibson plotted out the nearby town of Litchfield that the railroad would become an integral part of that community, Standish yawned. Standish had only been established in 1898, yet it was the first major town in that district and enjoyed a loyal following of the agriculural district, that Litchfield which tried could never overcome.