Standish was a well designed utopian community. Yet, it shared a trait with many other communities that having a cemetery was an after thought. Those who initially passed away there were interred in the Janesville or Susanville Cemeteries. This changed in 1901 with the passing of Mary Pringle. Her husband, James and her were one of the first people to take up residence at Standish. She was buried in a field approximately 300 yards west of the Standish Bible Church on property at that time owned by Jim Elledge. Over the course of years only a handful people were buried there. As Jessie McKay Lowe who lived in Standish during the early 1900s noted the cemetery was abandoned because it would become completely under water at irrigation time. In 1909, the graves of Minnie Winslow and Bruce Ganyon were disinterred and moved to the Janesville Cemetery. The last burial to occur there was in 1918 for Mary Ann Penman.

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In February 1898, it was revealed that a site for the utopian community of Standish had been selected. It consisted of 240 acres and one of the main features was the main road from Susanville to Amedee would run through the center of the town. That road we know today as Highway 395. After the announcement everything was relatively quiet. One would think the promoters would be anxious to develop the new town. That was not the case, as it was just the opposite. The Associated Colonies who was behind the project took a slow and methodical approach. In July they stated their mission was to “To build, not to boom.”

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During the late 1920s, the farmers in the Standish district were frustrated with water woes. Those who hoped to be beneficiary of Bly’s Eagle Lake project were dismayed with an inadequate flow from that body of water. Even those who had water shares with Lassen Irrigation District suffered the same fate due extremely dry conditions. The winter of 1928-29 the area only received 8.38 inches precipitation. In May 1929 the weather was exceedingly warm with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. Irrigation wells were common on the desert east side of the Honey Lake Valley, but not so like Standish that in the past received its water from the Susan River. In June 1929, Standish resident, J.D. Andrews had a well drilled with success. At a depth 210 feet it could provide 300 gallons a minute being pumped for seven hours with a four inch centrifugal pump. Soon others followed suit. On a final note the cost of the Andrews well was $757.

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The Standish Post Office was established on April 21, 1899 with Harriet F. Torrey as the first postmaster. It is one of a handful of Lassen County post offices established prior to 1900 that are still in existence.

The town was named after Myles Standish, of the Plymouth Colony fame. In the 1890s, the Associated Colonies of New York wanted to create utopian communities in the West, and Standish would be their second development. The Standish Colony was designed using the philosophical beliefs of Myles Standish and the economic structure promoted by LDS leader, Brigham Young. For it to succeed it needed a water supply to irrigate the surrounding land. In 1898, the Honey Lake Valley Colonial Irrigation Company was incorporated and purchased Edward Purser’s Susan River Irrigation System. However, it was plagued with litigation over water rights, that led to the demise of the Standish Colony and Associated Colonies in 1901.

On a final note, the first book I intended to write was the history of the Tule and Standish districts. Well, most know that did not happen. A few years back I did survey of over 1,000 people to see if there was still an interest. Only 40 people expressed one, so that is why I never finished the history of Standish.

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