More changes were on the horizon. Amedee was receiving a great deal of press in the numerous west coast newspapers. Besides the railroad, Amedee became the focal point of numerous reclamation projects to reclaim the vast sagebrush plain of the eastern Honey Lake Valley into a major agricultural hub. The railroad, of course, saw the potential. In January 1892, the railroad’s general manager, Erasmus Gest made a deal with developer Silas N. Griffith. In the contract it was stipulated, that not only a town plot be subdivided, but a grand hotel be built within six months. Gest had only purchased the proposed townsite from Brubeck, a few days before meeting Griffith for a bargain price of $150.  On June 3, 1892 a grand opening celebration of three-story Hotel Amedee was held. Once Griffith was relieved from his contract, he began his search for potential buyers of the hotel. He did have to look far, and in September 1892, Brubeck purchased the hotel that had many amenities including twenty-seven guest rooms. While the 1893 national financial crisis did put a damper on things at Amedee, it was the most important rail shipping point for Northeastern California.

The good times would not last forever. In 1898, the railroad made it known that it would extend its line north to the Madeline Plains. When that occurred Amedee would lose its prominence as the terminus and there would be an exodus. In June 1900 the extension was completed. During the town’s hey day in the early 1890s it boasted a population of between 300 to 400 inhabitants. The population of the town at the dawn of the new century had dwindled to 49. To back up a little. In 1898, Brubeck placed the hotel for sale, with an asking price of $2,000 cash. For the longest time there were no takers. In the fall of November 1900 Brubeck purchased a 1,700 acre ranch in Contra Costa County and moved his family there. It was not until April 1901 that Brubeck finally found a buyer, namely Arthur P. Holland of Oakland, California. The transaction included the entire Brubeck holdings of the Hotel Amedee, bath house, rights to the hot springs, and approximately 100 acres. Holland planned to make the place into health resort and for Brubeck, a chapter closed and a new one had begun.

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In 1873, at the age of twenty-one Philip Brubeck gave his son, Lewis a horse. Shortly afterwards, Lewis left his native Indiana and headed to California. His first stop was the Honey Lake Valley. He decided to stay for awhile and took up a homestead near the Mapes Ranch east of present day Litchfield. He became acquainted with his neighbors, especially the Grass household. On February 4, 1877 at Janesville Lewis married Louisa Grass, who was also a native of Indiana.

Like so many, Lewis was thinking the grass must be greener on the other side of the fence. In 1881, he purchased 151 acres from E.C. McKenney of Reno for $350. The property was located on the east shore of Honey Lake, and consisted what was designated at the time as Lower Hot Springs. No one had resided there since the Pearson Massacre of 1868. The first order of business was lumber for a house and fence posts for property improvements. This presented a challenge as the nearest sawmills were located a considerable distance away on the west side of the Honey Lake Valley. At Milford he had a  raft constructed to float the lumber across Honey Lake to his new home. 

Life was fairly uneventful there during the 1880s, though by the end of the decade Lewis and Louisa now had five children—William Andrew, Edna, Philip, Peter Howard and Mabel. In August 1890 the Brubeck family experienced a dramatic change in their lives. Located ten miles to the south was Leigan the terminus of the Nevada and California Railroad. Within a matter of months, the railroad extended its line north to Brubeck’s to become the new terminus named Amedee. 

The first item of business for Brubeck was to move his house next to the railroad. Thus, he began the transition from rancher to an innkeeper. He was overwhelmed with business. In December 1890, Brubeck’s new Pioneer Hotel opened for business. The second floor contained eight guest rooms. On the first floor, there was a ladies parlor, two dining rooms, bar and the kitchen to feed the guests. He took advantage of the hot springs, and built a small bath house. Business was brisk. Brubeck expanded his horizons by opening a livery stable. Amedee was on the verge of becoming a “boom town.”  Brubeck’s dining rooms were serving over 200 people day. He ended up using his livery stable as an overflow to his hotel.

To be continued tomorrow.

This was not your best criminal mind at work. At one o’clock in the morning of February 22, 1931, fifteen-year-old Paul Bryan entered Bill Lewis’ restaurant in Wendel. (It no doubt operated twenty-four hours day to accommodate the railroad workers.) He asked the night clerk for some onions. The clerk went into the store room to fetch the onions. When the clerk returned Bryan and the store’s slot machine were missing. In a short time Bryan returned for the onions. The clerk obliged with the onions and when Bryan left, the authorities immediately notified.

At daybreak, Sheriff Jim Leavitt spotted the young man in the railyards trying to board a freight train. He was arrested on the spot. About a mile from the restaurant the slot machine and bag onions were found. The slot machine had been chopped opened with an axe, the money all gone.

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One of popular local attractions is the Bizz Johnson Trail. It is a Rails to Trails Project to convert the abandoned railroad line between Susanville and Westwood. Like many projects it did not happen overnight. When it was first proposed in 1978, there was some local opposition.

Anyhow, the project moved forward. There was a lot of work to be done to make the conversion a reality—like the removal of the rails and ties. In the summer/fall of 1981, Jim Dobbas of Truckee, a salvage operator had the job to remove the said rails and ties. For a time there was an impressive site of stacked rails and ties at the Susanville Depot. A portion of the re-usable rails were donated to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad.

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The Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) was a stingy operation and because they had no competition for many years, took advantage of the situation with its freight and passenger rates.

However, in January 1892 the NCO offered a generous one thousand mile ticket good for the whole year for an entire family at $30. At that time, Amedee was the end of the line and was 80 miles north of Reno. A one way fare between the two places was $1.35. So if one was doing frequent travel it was a bargain. With Amedee a thriving boomtown, the NCO knew there were would be a lot of passenger traffic, hence the special offer.

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