Beginning in the 1870s, sheep ranchers, mainly from Butte &Tehama counties would  bring their sheep to higher elevations for summer grazing to this region.  Western Lassen County was ideal for such.

Of course, tenders to these flocks needed some type of housing. Since the accommodations were seasonal, many were log cabins.

The 1920s and1930s were turbulent times for the sheep industry. Wool prices plummeted. Many outfits went bankrupt. The annual tradition of moving sheep from winter to summer ranges would be abandoned. Those summer headquarters suffered the same fate.

Tim

Long Valley pioneer, Jacob McKissick created a large ranching empire in Lassen and Washoe counties. It would all come crashing down with his death in 1900. McKissick was a life-long bachelor, so there was a lot of speculation as to who would receive what. The bulk of his estate he left to his nephew, Benjamin Howard McKissick, who had a spent the greater portion of his life working for his uncle. Of course, this did not set well with other family members, and lawsuits were filed to contest the will. In 1903, Benjamin Howard McKissick could no longer handle the stress of these conflicts and committed suicide in a most painful way, by swallowing carbolic acid. This event, of course, created even more estate litigation.

On February 4, 1914, H.G. Humphrey, W.H. Moffat and J.L. Humphrey. incorporated as the McKissick Cattle Company. They slowly began purchasing many of the McKissick Estate properties. In 1926, J. L. Humphrey went solo, and part of the dissolution process he took possession of the McKissick Ranch in Secret Valley, and holdings at Amedee. Humphrey had two children—Jack and Lucille. Jack would inherit Amedee, Lucille  married Hugh French and received the Secret Valley property.

Support

In the 1860s, stockmen on the Great Plains first introduced barbwire to keep their livestock in one region and to fence springs, preventing unwanted livestock access to the water. It was also an economical measure, wood was not a common commodity on the plains.

The introduction of barbwire in Lassen County was a slow process, and no doubt a 1880s lawsuit hampered its local use. In 1883, Charles F. Gardner and A.J. Rhoads claimed substantial acreage through the Swamp and Overflowed Land Act in northern Grasshopper Valley.  The men proposed a large-scale livestock operation.  In the spring of 1886, they hired William Tanner to construct a barbwire fence to enclose their lands to protect their
pasture from roaming livestock. Tanner constructed a three-strand
fence—the top strand 52 inches high, with posts thirty-six feet apart.
Charles F. Loveland, the adjoining property owner claimed the fence
was a hazard and poorly maintained.  He claimed that five of his
horses had been killed by the fence and an additional twenty horses
had been crippled by it. On July 4, 1886, Loveland filed a lawsuit
against Gardner, Rhoads and Tanner for the loss and injuries sustained by his horses from that fence.  On April 11, 1887, the jury awarded Loveland $575 plus costs.  Gardner appealed verdict.  On May 27, 1889, the appellate court remanded the case back to the local court with two options.  Loveland could accept damages in the amount of $300 or the parties could have a new trial.  Loveland accepted the $300 award.

Support by subscribing.