Tag Archives: Red River Lumber Company

History

Red River’s Almanor Line

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The Almanor branch, 1924. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society

In 1921, the Red River Lumber Company needed to expand its logging operations having logged over most of the surrounding territory around Westwood and the northeastern section of Lake Almanor.  A second main line would be constructed from Red River Junction (Clear Creek) running to the west to Chester. One of the biggest obstacles to build the nine-mile segment was the crossing at Bailey Creek. There a wooden trestle of some 550 feet in length and fifty feet high required nearly 300,000 board feet of timbers, that took nearly a year to complete.

Over time this line extended way past Chester to Deer Creek. Like, Red River’s other main line that extended along the east shore of Lake Almanor, led to speculation and rumors.  Would Red River extend its line down Deer Creek to connect with the Sacramento Valley, was a question on a lot of minds. By the time the logging line reached Deer Creek, Red River was faced with so many financial issues, that it was not feasible.

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History

The Antelope Fire, 1926

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The fire as seen from Willow Creek Valley. Courtesy of Lola L. Tanner

On Sunday, August 26, 1926, Charles Hurlbut, a Lassen County Road department employee had made a working camp on Rice Canyon Road. In the afternoon, he built a campfire, and left it unattended to gather more wood.  In the interim, an erratic gust a wind blew threw, sending embers from the campfire onto nearby dry bronco grass. A wildfire quickly erupted. There was nothing Hurlbut could do, but to drive frantically to Susanville to enlist aid. Some sixty men were recruited to fight the fire. Half of the fire crew consisted of employees of the Red River Lumber Company, as the company owned a tremendous amount of timber in the district. From Susanville the fire was a spectacular sight for its residents, as most of the Antelope Mountain went up in flames. One interesting facet in battling the fire was the use of backfiring. Charley Carpenter, a prospector, had a cabin at Miner’s Spring on Antelope Grade. Carpenter seeing the fire raging towards his place, lit a fire in the approaching direction, and it was enough to divert it from destroying his home. In all, some 22,000 acres were burned, making it one of the largest fires of the era.
The firefighters were able to keep the fire away from the ranches at the lower end of the valley. However, one ranch, belonging to Bob Wilson was not so fortunate. Wilson lost his house, his barn containing seventy-five tons of hay and some two hundred chickens. For the Red River Lumber Company their loss was substantial too, an estimated fifteen million board feet of timber, and to the lesser extent the former Conklin holdings at Jacks Valley.

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History

Carlton Goodrich

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Goodrich Barn
The old Goodrich barn as it appeared in the 1920s

In 1861, Carlton Goodrich settled at Mountain Meadows and would become one of the largest property owners there, as his ranch totaled over 7,000 acres. He located his ranch house just west where the highway crosses Goodrich Creek, approximately across from where the old chimney stands. It became known as Mountain House and was a popular stop for weary travelers. In April 1875, Sylvester Daniels paid Goodrich a visit while touring the region and wrote, “I love these mountain folks. No aristocracy among them.” When Goodrich died in 1886, due to estate issues and the subsequent sale to John Crouch, the popular establishment closed. When the Red River Lumber Company established its Westwood operation, they transformed the old Goodrich ranch into a dairy.

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History

When Westwood’s Water Supply Went Dry

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The reservoir as it appeared in 1914. Minnesota Historical Society

The drought of 1924 caught many people off guard. Springs that had never gone dry, went dry. At Westwood the unthinkable happened when Duck Lake the main water source of Goodrich Creek went dry. Up until this time, it was Westwood’s water supply.  Red River’s resident manager, Fletcher Walker wrote on May 10, 1924: The water supply for the town is failing us quite rapidly and it is now a race to get water from Clint’s Camping Ground Spring [Clear Creek] before the Goodrich Ditch fails us. We are running the town on meal hours so every one can get water for their meals and then closing it off. To do this requires water taken from the millpond.” As Walter Luff, Jr. recalled they used millpond water to bathe with, and the water tasted like turpentine.

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History

Sinker Logs

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A sinker long dredged up from the Westwood millpond, circa 1930. Courtesy of Walter “Doug” Luff

Mill ponds are a relic of the past lumber industry.  If your are from that era, you recall one particular thing  that is forever etched in your memory bank. During the summer months, the stench from these mill ponds were horrendous.

One of the annual maintainence chores was the removal of sinker logs. These were logs that sunk to the bottom of the millpond before they were put through the sawmill.

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History

The Red Octopus

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The Willis Walker residence, circa 1915. It should be duly noted that Willis also resided in San Francisco.

When Red River Lumber Company established its company town in  Lassen County many were thankful for the prosperity it brought with it, especially the Fernley &  Lassen Railroad. However, the honeymoon would not last long. Red River would exert its influence over so many aspects of life. Certain member’s of Susanville’s business community had a code name for the company:  the Red Octopus. After all, in 1920, Red River purchased the town’s local power company, Lassen Electric. They advertised their Big Store specials in the Susanville newspapers, hoping to lure away customers. In 1922, when Red River purchased the Milwood Tract east of the city limits, they were able to block any annexation effort by the city until 1947, which by then Red River was going through a dissolution process.

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History

Clear Creek, Lassen County

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Clear Creek, circa 1906. Courtesy of Mark Reed

Clear Creek is one of the area’s idyllic settings. In the early 1900s, when Clinton Walker was cruising the timber in the region for the Red River Lumber Company, he spent many a summer camped at Clear Creek, as a “home base.”  Clinton’s daughter, Harriet, recalled many pleasant memories as a child camping there. Harriet stated at times they all got tired of eating fish caught from the springs. Then one day, her father surprised everyone when he returned to camp with a “mountain calf.” I had never heard of such a creature and asked what was a mountain calf. Harriet whispered “Bambi.”

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History

T.B. Walker Papers

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Westwood, 1931

The Minnesota Historical Society is a wonderful institution that is also the home to the T.B. Walker papers and archives of the Red River Lumber Company.  On my last visit I ordered over 700 pages of documents. There are a lot of tidbits that unfortunately, I could not include in the Red River series. To do so, would have made for some awkward reading.

The T.B. Walker papers contains tremendous amount of correspondence between the family members. In T.B.’s correspondence there is a sense of frustration as he found himself in a Catch-22 situation. After all, the California operation was for his sons to operate on their own. While he provided his thoughts and opinions, most went largely ignored. In 1916, he lamented that mammoth mill at Westwood was a colossal mistake. It was his intention that Red River build several small mills throughout their vast timber holdings of Northern California.

Stay tuned for more.

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History

Westwood’s Roller Skating Rink

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Charlie Munroe posing at the end of an era.

A long time fixture of Westwood was Charlie Monroe and his roller skating rink. Timing plays an important role in many events, being at the right time and right place makes a big difference. In the 1930s, Westwood’s Red River Lumber Company began divesting of  assets to lease out operations they had done in the past. It was an effort to economize.

The Westwood Auditorium was built in 1920 at a cost of $20,000, the most expensive Red River public facility to date. It was used for multiple purposes. In 1937, Monroe leased the building from Red River. It was an oral agreement on day to day basis. Through successive ownership of Westwood, that agreement was honored. In the fall of 1976, Greater Westwood, Inc. owners of the property held a public auction, and the roller skating rink was one of them. It sold. After nearly forty years of operation the rink closed.

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History

Red River’s Rumor Mill

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Camp 38
Camp 38, Red River Lumber Company, 1922. Courtesy of R.S. Pershing

While the Red River Lumber Company was well known for its mammoth sawmill at Westwood, the company generated its own rumor mill. With its extensive timber holdings in a five-county region speculation as to its next move was rampant.

This readily apparent with its logging operation on the east shore of Lake Almanor. By the time its railroad logging line reached Camp 38, halfway down the shoreline, tongues began wagging whether the line would extend into Indian Valley and connect with the railroad line serving Engel Mine. This would then give Red River access to the Western Pacific Railroad. It was a thought that company officials gave considerable thought. While it did not quite transpire it was part of the impetuous for the Western Pacific’s High line that became a reality in 1931.

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