On February 7, 1916, the Lucerne School District was established at a special meeting of the Lassen County Board of Supervisors. It, along with the Glade School District, were the two last rural school districts created in Lassen County. Shortly thereafter a school house was constructed about three miles north of Doyle. The school closed in 1925. At that time the Board of Supervisors authorized the sale of the building—asking price $50. But no buyers came forward. The school house was destroyed in a August 1926 forest fire that also destroyed the ranches of Arent, Downing and Wagner.

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In 1928, the Lassen National Forest Service leased seven acres from Lassen County on Richmond Road for a tree nursery. It was originally named the Susanville Nursery. The name was changed in 1932, when  William G. Durbin, the Lassen National Forest Supervisor retired after ten years on the Lassen.  C.W. Corson, a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota has hired to be in charge of it.  It was their goal to raise 750,000 of pine seedlings over a five year period. In addition, experiments were done with cedar, fir and sequoia.

The first planting was done in 1930 to assist the reforestation of the  burn on Antelope Mountain west of Eagle Lake. In addition the nursery provided seedlings to the various national forest service throughout California. It was unique that it was only large Forest Service nursery in California. In 1936, after the establishment of Lassen College’s Forestry program many of those students worked at Durbin Nursery.

Unfortunately, I do not at this time, have a date when the nursery ceased operation, but it appears sometime in the early 1950s.  The property is best known today as Diamond View School.

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Back in 1989 I briefly corresponded with Jerry King, a 1950 Lassen College gunsmithing graduate. He wanted to know what became of C.W. Frost. He wrote, “At that time Mr. Frost was the only gunsmithing instructor and had been since he and one student began the program in 1945 . . . I think it is only fair that Mr. Frost be recognized and Harlan Fritts be recognized for their part in founding the gunsmithing program.” Continue reading Lassen College Gunsmithing Program →

In the mid-1980s, I taught a course for a couple of years in Research Techniques in Local History at Lassen Community College. The students ranged in age from 18 to 78.  The students received hands on training with visits to the Lassen County Courthouse to research records, and numerous other places during the course. They were always an enthusiastic bunch, and it was more the normal, the class would run over an additional hour or two.  Continue reading Lassen County – Jesus Spring →

In May 1888, this school, located between Grasshopper Valley and the Madeline Plains, was established. Unfortunately, due to its remoteness, there is very little documentation.

By the early 1920s, many of the homesteads had either been abandoned or sold, forcing the school to close. In July 1927, the two remaining families with children—Conklins and Sakaris—wrote to the Lassen County Board of Supervisors and wrote, “We want back our school.” The board obliged. Three years it closed, due to a lack of students.

In 1932, Emily Rothlin, rural school supervisor recommended the school district by abolished as the valley’s population consisted of nine bachelors. The board obliged. In 1933, James Leavitt bought the abandoned schoolhouse at a surplus sale for $50.

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Usually, on a monthly basis I like to feature a then and now post of what a particular site/building has changed over the years.

This month’s feature is the Johnstonville School, one of the original school districts created in 1864 when Lassen County was formed. The original school house pre-dates the school district and was built in 1863, on land that Eber Bangham eventually donated.  On January 20, 1961, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to build a new school to replace the old one. School board members, Harry Reuck, Mary Barr and Leroy Cramer, broke the ground for a new four-room schoolhouse which would cost the district $134,518. When completed the old school house located on an adjoining parcel was sold and converted into a private residence.

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At the St. Patrick’s Cemetery Tour,the first grave visited was that of Matilda Todd Montgomery.  In 1865, Matilda’s two sisters, Margaret Streshly and Mary Drake, were instrumental in soliciting both building materials and money to build the first Richmond School.

On April 1, 1966, Richmond School was held for the last time in that building. The original one-room school was replaced with a $175,000 structure that consisted of three classrooms, offices, a kitchen and a multipurpose room and located a short distance to the east. The original school building still remains, though it has been remodeled, and converted into a private residence.

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