In 1883, Bieber resident, H.C. Watson established the Bieber Cheese Factory, not only a Lassen County first, but was the only one to exist, though it should noted that there were numerous dairies throughout the region. An interesting anecdote was relayed to me, from someone who remembers the facility. It was related that the catfish in Pit River at Bieber grew nice and fat thanks to cheese factory—the excess whey was disposed by dumping it into the river.
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The desert homesteaders of eastern Lassen County encountered numerous problems in their quest to make their land there productive. One unassuming predator they had to deal with was the rabbit. In 1920, the residents of the Madeline Plains requested aid from their Congressman, John E. Raker, to help them with this particular problem. A study sent to Raker reported: “As soon as the crops are up and making good progress the rabbits begin work on them. The heaviest damage is done during August. One rancher reported losing 100 acres of wheat last summer. They take this crop in preference to oats and rye. It was reported that 70 tons of rabbit meat [to make tamales] had been shipped last season to the San Francisco market. It appears that the animals cannot be killed fast enough in this region to furnish relief to the ranches.”
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In spring of 1863, Dr. John Briceland of Cow Creek, Shasta County had a problem. The stream which his flour mill was located had begun to erode the foundation. He made an agreement with P.W. Cunningham and Fred Johnson to relocate the mill, or rather the equipment. For their efforts they received one-half ownership. They found a new location for their enterprise at Johnstonville in the Honey Lake Valley. The mill was located along the Susan River, which was needed for power. They built two small reservoirs and at night they would dam the river and fill the ponds. The two ponds held enough water to power the mill until the next night.
During the late 1860s through the early 1870s, mill changed hands numerous times. In 1875, William H. Hall and Henry Snyder took possession and would operate it for thirty plus years. In 1907, Snyder sold his interest in the mill to Hall, as he desired to retire and move to a warmer climate. Shortly thereafter the mill closed and would remain idle for nearly a decade. In 1919, it was sold to M.A. Taylor of Oakland who dismantled it and took the machinery to the San Francisco Bay area. It should be noted that Standish resident, Sam Alexander purchased some of the lumber that he used to build a barn at his place. Finally, for the record the mill was located at the site of the Gables.
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In the lumber industry the head sawyer was paid $75 a month, plus board, while the average mill worker received $40 a month plus board. Since firewood was a much needed commodity those laborers were paid on the average 75 cents per cord.
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In 1892, the Adin Argus correspondent provided the following glimpse of the conditions found at Ash Valley: “Farming in the Valley has been looked upon as unprofitable for years past but experience has taught us differently. Every old plow has got the rust of idleness knocked off and assumes a brightness equal to the owner’s ambition. The fact is, if a rancher can cut two tons of hay off one acre of land by plowing and sowing, it will surely cost less than to cut two acres of swamp land for one ton of hay and get a much poorer quality of hay. We would harvest lots of grain in our valley if a market could be had. Mr. Spooner has enough oats on hand at present to supply Lassen County for a year.
“Mr. Moll is waiting for favorable weather when he will commence to sow his wild oats for experiment. Mrs. Spooner is having an addition built to their residence and improvements in the shape of building will be lively soon. Mr. Moll will soon have a new one under headway, and if we could get lumber, there would be still more hammers in use. Mr. R. F. Comfort will have his house finished in a short time. There are more old bachelors in our Valley to the square inch than in any other part of the State, and still we don’t seem to catch on. But still we all wear a smile that denotes happiness and content and live to forget the past and look to the bright side of the future.
“Big Valley and especially Adin, ought to be proud of its neighbor, Ash Valley, it being the prettiest in the northern part of the State, corralled by one side by juniper capped hills and on the other by lofty pines for which the Sierras are widely noted. It furnishes the water to run their mills, trout for its angler’s good sport, water for stock and in fact, the best of society.”
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“Willow Creek Valley is situated about ten miles north of Susanville and contains some 15,000 acres of agricultural and meadow land. Here is an abundance of water for irrigation, derived from Willow Creek, which heads hear Eagle Lake and flows through the valley on its way to Honey Lake and from Round Valley Reservoir, situated in the mountains south of the valley. Its principal industry is stock raising, although considerable grain and alfalfa is grown and on the north side in the rich peat land vegetables grow to perfection.”
This is a continuation of excerpts from spring the pamphlet entitled Lucky Land of Lassen that was produced and distributed at the Panama Pacific International Exposition that was held in San Francisco during 1915.
“Willow Creek Valley is situated about ten miles north of Susanville and contains some 15,000 acres of agricultural and meadow land. Here is an abundance of water for irrigation, derived from Willow Creek, which heads hear Eagle Lake and flows through the valley on its way to Honey Lake and from Round Valley Reservoir, situated in the mountains south of the valley. Its principal industry is stock raising, although considerable grain and alfalfa is grown and on the north side in the rich peat land vegetables grow to perfection.”
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