Susanville’s Perplexing Street Names

North Street, Susanville
Look east on North Street from Weatherlow during the 1938 flood. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal

Did you ever notice that North Street runs in an east-west direction? It does not make sense, until you go way back when Susanville was first surveyed. There you find the answer to this perplexing issue. You see, North Street was most northern street in the town. The same thing happened in the 1920s with an adjoining subdivision to the south, in which South Street became the most southern street. And here is trivia about North Street. When town, as mentioned was surveyed in 1863, Roop Street ended at Weatherlow. In 1910, it was extended to Hall Street. This met with teamsters glee to avoid the muddy bog on Main Street created by Piute Creek.

North Roop Street, Susanville, 1931. Courtesy of B.R. Zimmerman Collection

Another peculiarity is that of Roop and Weatherlow Streets and that they should be reversed.. This was pointed out to me  many years ago when Eleanor Vandeburgh and I worked at the museum. After all, her reasoning was, one would think Weatherlow Street should have been designated as Roop, since it went to his original home. Weatherlow lived at the end of Roop Street, though it did not extend that far, since his original home located  at Susanville Ranch Park. On the same token, Weatherlow Street went by Roop’s original home.

Tim

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