In 1908, G. Yoell Parkhurst compiled a Lassen County booklet as part of Sunset Magazine’s Homesteader’s Bureau operation. Parkhurst made the following observation about Milford:

“Milford is quaint little village a few miles from the west shore of Honey Lake, and is the post office for some fine orchard and farm lands. The best way to show what may be done here is to tell about James Doyle, one of Lassen County’s oldest and prosperous citizens. He came to California in the early sixties [1860s] by way of the plain route. Arriving in Lassen County in the vicinity of Milford, he saw the possibilities in the land around him, so went no farther, taking up a section of land plowing the soil. Altogether he accumulated a mile and a quarter square of land between Honey Lake and the mountains, all of it being overgrown with sagebrush. This was nearly sixty years ago and today he is one of the wealthiest men in the County, made so by the power of his own energy exerted upon fertile land.

Subscribe

While today, the east side of Honey Lake may look bleak and barren, it was not always the case and there were numerous attempts to develop it. In 1915, Rosendal Minster envisioned a Scandinavian settlement south of Amedee. Minster had a lease/option to purchase the lands and the pumping plant of the Standish Water Company. He then formed the Farmer’s Land Company to operate the holdings.. The properties were split into 40-acre tracts with a price range of $45 to $65 per acre. The new settlement was named Rosendale. While Minster vigorously promoted the project, but due to debts he quickly accrued, he abandoned it the following year.

Subscribe!

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.

Subscribe!