Standish Gun Club membership card,. Courtesy of Betty Barry Dea
Awhile back we explored hunting clubs, as they are private affairs with scant documentation. I recently happened to come across information of the Standish Gun Club. It was organized in the fall of 1926 and had a limited membership of twenty-five. They secured to leases of hunting privileges to three Tule ranches: McClelland, Von Staden and the Riverside Mill Ranch, later known as Galeppi. As was customary they posted signs on these properties. The initial officers wereJ.D. Andrews, President; Fred Hall, Vice President and Ben Davis Secretary/Treasurer.
In 1898,James Pringle built themost substantial structure in the new town of Standish. It was simply known as Pringle Hall. The first floor housed Mike Phillips general store. The second story was a hall used for dances, fraternal lodge meetings and church services.
As Standish continued grow, Frank Wrede saw the potential in the building and purchased it from Pringle. He renovated the structure. The second floor was converted into hotel rooms. He added a restaurant to the first floor, operated a smaller general store and would house a branch office of the Bank of Lassen County.
Standish Branch of the Bank of Lassen County inside the Wrede Hotel
By the early 1930s, times were hard for such rural hotels such as Wrede with improvements of highways and such, these institutions were shuttered. In the summer of 1937, V.R. McClure, Wrede’s son-in-law, announced his intentions to tear down the defunct hotel and replace it with a restaurant and bar which was popular then. For whatever reason, he procrastinated and did not do the demolition until the fall of 1942 and then it became a vacant lot. It is now part of the gas station operation of the Wayside at the intersection of A-3 and Highway 395.
The flood March 1953, nearStandish Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal
In 1937 the State of California reconstucted Highway395 between Standish and Litchfield. At the lowest section around Susan River the State raised the road bed by two feet. In doing so, they blocked numerous culverts and redesigned the bridge over Susan River.
The flooded Standish district, with Honey Lake in the background, 1952. Courtesy of Betty B. Deal
In 1952 the region experienced heavy snowfall. On March 25, 1952 floodwaters from Willow Creek and Balls Canyon, nearby tributaries to Susan River, surged and the redesigned highway acted as a levee. flooding the farm lands of Hardin & Edith Barry, Chris & Marie Miller and L.F. & Lura Dozier. The flood water did not recede until nearly sixty days later. The three couples sued the State for damages related the floodwaters. In 1957 they settled out of court with Millers receiving $2,000; Doziers, $2,500 and Barrys $1,000.
Standish School, 1911. Courtesy of Esther McClelland
Standish was a planned utopian community, laid out in 1897. As many know, the best plans do not always come to fruition. This was the case in Standish, and the school district was not created until 1906. While the formation of the school was slow to start, that was not the case for the residents to build a schoolhouse. That summer the Wilbur Brothers were hired to construct a $1,300 school facility.
It should be noted the Wilbur Brothers also built the Honey Lake and Missouri Bend schools, and all three structures are similar in design. Honey Lake school has been converted into a residence and no longer recognizable. Missouri Bend is still intact, and for awhile it has been used as a private school.*
Missouri Bend School, circa 1912—M.E.Mulroney
After World War II, rural schools faced many challenges. Thus, unification was the term of the day. On July 1, 1951, the residents of the Bridgeport, Soldier Bridge and Standish School Districts agreed to consolidate and form the Shaffer Union School District.
*The abandoned Standish School was torn down in the 1960s.
Twice in Lassen County’s history there have local militia units of the California National Guard. The last time was during World War II. Initially, there was to be one large unit for Lassen and Modoc counties. That plan was neither feasible or practical and was dropped.
A new strategy was drafted. Inside each county, especially in large rural counties like Lassen, several local militia units would be formed. There duties were to protect the area in case of enemy invasion. Their involvement was confined to the boundaries of the county. Uniforms, guns and ammunition would be provided to each unit. They would also be trained in guerilla warfare. In Lassen County it fell upon the Farm Advisor (T.S. Brown) to organize these units.
On May 20 1942, the first organization meeting was held in Susanville. Local units were created for Susanville, Bieber, Doyle, Janesville and Standish. By the first of June, the Susanville Militia had 70 members. It became known as Thomas Tucker Militia—named after Thomas Tucker the first casualty from Susanville in World War I. Fortunately, this volunteer force never had to be activated. At the conclusion of the war, each individual’s enrollment in the militia was automatically cancelled.
Today, is the memorial service for Norma Story Stampfli (1932-2026). Norma graduated from Soldier Bridge School at Litchfield. Soldier Bridge was the first school in what would become the Standish District. It was established in March 1865 and the original school was located near Mapes Ranch.
In the early 1920s the school was relocated to Litchfield. On February 25, 1929, a $10,000 bond election was held to build a new schoolhouse at Litchfield. The bond was narrowly approved, 40 for and 37 against. The opponents retained an attorney, Ben V. Curler, to file a protest against the bond measure, the school district, and the County Board of Supervisors, the latter having had the authority to sell the bonds. The opponents argued that there were only 34 students and no prospect of any increase in student enrollment. In addition, they stated, the majority of the voters supporting the bonds were non-taxpayers and while most of the property owners favored a new building, they thought the proposed cost too excessive. On April 10, 1929, the school trustees and the County Board of Supervisors held a joint meeting to seek a solution. They agreed on a smaller school, only $6,500 in bonds was issued to construct the school. In 1951, Soldier Bridge, Standish and Bridgeport Schools were consolidated to form the Shaffer Union Elementary School District.
A major fundraiser for the Standish Hall Association was its annual Thanksgiving Ball. The Association owned a two-story building in that community, and a prominent one at that. Seasoned residents will remember as Niel’s Mercantile. Built in 1907, the second story was a hall that many organizations utilized. The first floor was rented to a commercial enterprise to assist with payment and upkeep of the building.
Niel’s Mercantile Standish,, no date. Courtesy of Camilla Moody.
The Association reported that the ball was a successful event, both in terms financially and socially. Standish was gaining notoriety for its social scene, as the Odd Fellows Lodge would be holding a Christmas Ball next month.
Members of the Honey Lake Valley Colonial Club assembled in front of the Honey Lake School, at Datura, 1897. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal.
In 1898, was the groundbreaking moment for planned utopian community of Standish. Its founder, William Smythe envisioned it based on the religious beliefs of Myles Standish and economic structure promoted LDS leader Brigham Young. Smythe believed that people desired to escape the industrial cities of the East, for a more simple life in the West. Water was to needed to irrigate the land. so the Standish Colony purchased the Susan River irrigation system, which would be its downfall. The colony did entice a few New England transplants to Standish who introduced a new plant to the region, which is enjoyed by many each spring for its fragrant blossoms–lilacs.
Ben Leavitt in his buggy in front Vic Perry’s store Standish, circa 1908. Leavitt was one of the first settlers Buggytown–Betty Barry Deal
Note: This post originally appeared 22 February 2023. At that I time I used the 1889 photograph of the Buggytown Ditch, because I misfiled the above buggy photograph.
No doubt you never heard of it. It was not named for pesky insects or pushy people either. An irrigation ditch was named as such, too. Buggytown, in its unique way was not even a town, but more like a sprawling affluent neighborhood in the late 1800s, located to the west of Leavitt Lake.It was so named as one of the first settlers possessed a buggy when such luxuries were rare on the frontier. It would later become known as Clinton, which consisted of a store, post office and the Riverside School. In 1973, it was transformed when the first phase of the Leavitt Lake Subdivision began.
Survey crew to enlarge the Buggytown ditch near Johnstonville, 1889. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal
Standish Branch of the Bank of Lassen County inside the Wrede Hotel
For a time, Standish was a very prosperous community in the Honey Lake Valley. Not only did it have numerous businesses, but a hotel, and a creamery, too. Everything was so good, in fact, that it even had its own financial institution.
In 1892, the Bank of Lassen County was established in Susanville, the first of its kind in Lassen County. In the spring of 1915, the bank announced it was going to open its first branch in Standish. However, it encountered some delays, especially with the installation of big safe, inside the Wrede Hotel, where the branch office would be located. On August 30, 1915, the branch opened with W.H. “Wally” Fulton, as the manager. Fulton had a long association with the financial institution, and equally important was well-known in the Standish region, having been married to Kathryn Mapes. The Standish Branch operated for ten years, closing its doors on December 31, 1925.
Wally Fulton later moved to Susanville and in 1933 became the City’s Treasurer. He remained in that position until his untimely death in 1941 by suicide. He used a gun in the city vault, and waited until the noon whistle from the Fruit Growers mill to mute the sound of the gun shot.
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