Loading logs with a McGiffert, at McCoy Flat, 1952.
While many are familiar with McCoy Flat Reservoir along Highway 44, there is another McCoy Flat in Lassen County, This too, was named for another Tehama rancher, Leo Lewis McCoy (1850-1936) who used this area for summer pasture from 1874 to 1913. When he retired in 1913, he sold his ranch of 27,000 acres to Alden Anderson for $150,000.
For the record, this McCoy Flat is located along Pine Creek, just east of Eagle Lake. In 1952, it was the scene of the last of the railroad logging operations of the Fruit Growers Supply Company.
Camp 10, Cookhouse, December 15, 1951. Courtesy of the Fruit Growers Supply Company.
In 1929, Fruit Growers Supply Company consolidated all of its logging camps into one larger camp, known as Camp 10. It was located thirty-eight miles northwest of Susanville near the banks of Pine Creek. Ten years later, Fruit Growers considered leaving Camp 10 to establish Camp 11 on the east end of Champs Flat, about ten miles northeast. In the spring of 1940 that plan was put on hold.
In the early 1940s, Fruit Growers was awaiting a very important government decision on the Wage and Hour Law–whether or not an employee would be paid for travel time to the actual work site. Travel time between Camp 10 and the logging site was 1 to 1 1/2 hours each day. If the government mandated paid travel time, Camp 11 would be established, but not necessarily at Champs Flat. It would not be until 1948 when the government ruled that employees were not entitled to paid travel time, and the need for a new logging camp disappeared.
The Fruit Growers Supply Company operated a lumber mill in Susanville from 1921 to 1963. When it was sold it became the foundation for Sierra Pacific Industries.
In 1910, Fruit Growers found itself as a mill operated at Hilt. It should be noted Fruit Growers is a purchasing agent co-operative for citrus growers known today as Sunkist. This was an era when produce was shipped in wooden boxes, hence the need for lumber. Continue reading Fruit Growers – Story Club→
The water carnival at the Sunkist Lodge, 1921. Courtesy of Ed Standard
For two years, 1921 and 1922, the big three lumber companies, Fruit Growers Supply Company, Lassen Lumber & Box Company, and the Red River Lumber Company held a competitive swimming meet between their respective employees. Continue reading Eagle Lake’s Water Carnival→
Log landing at Coyote Hole, August 21, 1953. Courtesy of Hank Martinez
In 1940, Fruit Growers purchased its first fleet of logging trucks for the Lassen Operation (Susanville). Initially, the trucks hauled logs where it was impractical to construct a railroad logging spur. With improvements with trucks and a system of private logging roads, it was just a matter of time, when the logging trucks would make railroad logging obsolete. In 1952, the event happened, and saw the last year of railroad logging of Fruit Growers and Lassen County.
Lunch time at Dow Butte, August 21, 1953. Courtesy of Hank MartinezThe record load of 26,860 board feet being unloaded at the Fruit Growers millpond, Susanville, August 21, 1953. Courtesy of Hank Martinez
The Susanville plant, 1921. Courtesy of Ed Standard
In February, I inaugurated a book-of-the-month, that featured Sagebrush Reflections. After all proceeds from book sales not only help support operations, but help finance future publications, in this case the stories behind the brands of the Pioneer.
It was not that long ago when one of the main components of the lumber industry was the manufacturing of wooden boxes to ship the nation’s vegetables and fruits. The Fruit Growers Supply Company was not your ordinary lumber company. Established in 1907, it is the co-operative purchasing arm of Sunkist. To protect the citrus grower’s interest in securing a supply of woodden boxes at a reasonable price, they went into the lumber business by accident at Hilt, Siskiyou County. With increased citrus production, in 1920 the company expanded and built a mill at Susanville. The demand continued and in 1944 Fruit Growers purchased Red River Lumber Company’s mill at Westwood along with the Burney Tract. Ten years later, the wooden box went by the wayside and the grower’s converted to cardboard.
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In 1919, when the Fruit Growers Supply Company decided to locate its second lumber mill at Susanville, they thought that community would come forth to provide housing for its workforce. It kind of happen. Yet, Fruit Growers with over 1,000 employees for its Susanville operation, was too much for the community to handle. To be able to attract a stable workforce, Fruit Growers only option was to develop its own residential district next to the mill. Those streets all have names associated with the citrus industry, such as Sunkist.
For those not familiar with Fruit Growers, it is a purchasing agent for co-operative then known as the California Fruit Growers Exchange comprised of citrus growers. In 1907, the Exchange coined the brand Sunkist and in 1952, they renamed the Exchange to Sunkist.
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Well, can you believe it, it has been one year to the date that the old barn at the east entrance to Susanville was destroyed by a fire. It was built in 1920/21 for the Fruit Growers Supply Company, who were in the midst of constructing their new sawmill/box factory nearby. Continue reading That old barn→
Tomorrow marks the return of the farmer’s market in Susanville. Please note the location has changed and it is on Pancera Plaza, Main and South Gay Streets, and not the Susanville Depot. When the big lumber mills were established it was a bonanza to the local agricultural community. In 1924, the Fruit Growers Supply Company purchased the following for its workforce.
300 pounds of fresh apricots
25,000 pounds of apples
500 pounds of asparagus
5,000 pounds of beets
4,000 pounds of green beans
21,000 pounds of cabbage
3,540 pounds of cucumbers
1,270 pounds of sweet corn
10,400 pounds of carrots
10,500 pounds of cauliflower
2,200 pounds of celery
5,200 pounds of grapes
12,600 pounds of watermelon
17,560 pounds of other melon
11,600 pounds ofgreen onion
50,000 sacks of dry onions
13,400 pounds of peaches
100 pounds of pears
1,000 pounds of peppers
13,800 pounds of tomatoes
89,200 pounds of beef
24,500 pounds of veal
33,600 pounds of pork
2,200 pounds of turkey
3,860 pounds of poultry
1,300 cases of eggs
21,800 pounds of butter
14,220 pounds of ham & bacon
117,500 pounds of flour
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Construction of Riverside Hospital, 1920. Courtesy of Ed Standard
When Fruit Growers decided to establish a mill at Susanville, there were a number of factors to be considered. Due to its size, they had to meet the 1913 Workmen’s Compensation Insurance and Safety Act. At Hilt, Fruit Growers had to establish a hospital and since Lassen County had built a new hospital in 1916, it was initially thought it could handle their needs. However, that was not the case. Continue reading Riverside Hospital→
