The Honey Lake Valley is made up of various districts. Take for instance, the area along Highway 395 where The Mark is located as well as the Herlong access roads. This region is known as Bird Flat. In the spring of 1858, John Byrd settled at this location and brought with him 700 to 800 head of horses.  That made him one of the largest stock raisers in the Honey Lake Valley.

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He is a little known figure in the early annals of Lassen County.  He was one of six men to spend the winter of 1855-56 at Peter Lassen’s newly constructed a cabin.  Prior to his arrival in the Honey Lake Valley, Lawrence had spent considerable time in Butte County where he earned the nickname “Commanche George,” though the circumstances behind the episode is not known. Like many prospectors he roamed the region, though never finding what he was looking for. In 1864, Lawrence and B.F. Murphy established the Buffalo Salt Works in the Smoke Creek Desert. In 1868, he was residing with the David Titherington family, who purchased Lassen’s ranch from the estate. On December 22, 1868, Lawrence died from small pox, that had become an epidemic in the area.. He was buried a short distance north of Peter Lassen’s grave, with no marker.

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Just because one enters into a partnership with a person who has a high profile name, does not guarantee success. While Peter Lassen enjoyed name recognition, his many business ventures had a lot to be desired. In 1851, in near exile from failed pursuits, Lassen and his partner, Isadore Meyerwitz operated a trading post in Indian Valley, Plumas County.

In late June 1855, Lassen along with partners Joseph Lynch, William Gallagher and Samuel Knight began to develop a mining claim on unamed creek in the Honey Lake Valley, to be later known as Lassen Creek. Work would come to a halt, when the water flow from the creek became too low for work to continue. The four men returned to Indian Valley. Lassen was not going to give up. That fall, along with Meyerwitz and Lynch, with plenty of provisions in hand returned to establish a camp at their claim and to spend the winter. A log cabin 10 feet by 12 feet was constructed a half mile or so west of the large ponderosa pine tree. it (The cabin was later enlarged to 16’ x50’). Three other men would join them—Marion Lawrence, John Duchene and Newton Hamilton. The following year some of men sought other claims. Even Lynch had settled on claim along Parker Creek south of Janesville, but eventually returned back to the cabin.

After Lassen’s death in 1859, his estate sold Lassen’s Ranch where he was buried to David Titherington. It did not include the property where the cabin was located and Lynch laid claim to that property. In 1880, Lynch secured a 160-acre federal land patent to that property.

As if he knew his day of reckoning was at hand, at the age of 73, Lynch sold his 160-acre homestead to W.P.Hall on October 20, 1885 for $1,000 with the provision to a life estate to the property. Lynch died that December. In 1896, Peter Vogt who had purchased the property from Hall, burned down the dilapidated cabin that Lassen, Lynch  with other comrades had constructed in the fall of 1855.

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Earlier this year I wrote about the proposed town of Cromwell, the current location of Herlong. In the spring of 1912, Fred Cromwell, the promoter approached the Lassen County Board of Supervisors to construct a new road from Milford, with a 1800 foot bridge across Honey Lake to his new town. The Board took the matter under advisement with a wait and see approach to see what would materialize of the development. It was a good call, because by the end of the year the proposed community of Cromwell was abandoned.

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On September 8, 1862,  the Shaffer Brothers—James and Uriah- purchased George W. Lathrop’s 1,280-acre ranch and station, that he established in 1859, for $4,250.  The station did a brisk business as a major stop on the Nobles Trail/Humboldt Road. However, trade dropped off dramatically with the construction of the transcontinental railroad to the south.  In 1868, in conjunction with a depressed economy, the Shaffer Brothers were forced to file bankruptcy. The property was auctioned and purchased by their brother-in-law, Daniel Samis, for $5,347.  A month later, on May 19, 1868, Samis sold the property to Thomas J. French and Andrew Litch for $2,500, a substantial loss for Samis. Even though there stay in Lassen County was brief, the mountain that they resided near its base is named for them.

It should be noted that the location of the ranch and station is that of Mapes Ranch, east of Litchfield. In addition, the California Division of Forestry had a lookout on top of the mountain from 1931 to 1949.

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Nearly twenty years after the planned community of Honey Lake City had fallen, another real estate speculator arrived on the scene. In 1909, the place became the junction of the Nevada-California-Oregon (NCO) and Western Pacific (WP) railroads, and that enhanced the site. A location with access to two railroads had appeal for development.  But this place had one drawback—water, or more specifically, the lack of it. Continue reading Cromwell, Lassen County →