An 1886 view where the triangle has already developed. Courtesy of Bud Lesser
Not quite like the Bermuda Triangle, but it is an interesting piece of real estate, that really belongs to no one. Actually, the owner is the federal government, due to Roop’s carelessness. The Lassen County Assessor does not even recognize its existence of this parcel.
500 Block, Main Street, Susanville, 1911—C.R. Caudle Collection
The property in question, is located at the west end of Susanville’s Main Street, which people are familiar is the triangle piece of property in front of the Elk’s Lodge, with the diverging Pine Streets going in different directions, creating kind of like a “fork in the road.” Currently, a community Christmas tree is placed there and in years past various other Christmas displays.
By the 1890s the local newspapers wrote editorials criticizing that it was an ugly patch of unkept property at the head of Main Street. Relief came in 1902, when the Mountain Echo Band constructed a bandstand there. Four years later, the bandstand had been neglected and received community scorn for it being an eyesore, and was torn down shortly thereafter.
This parcel truly came into existence in 1922 with the construction of Highway 36. For years, the City of Susanville maintained it, by water the mowing the lawn. The Monticola Club would plant flowers along the lawn’s edge. Today it is a dry patch of scorched earth.
Sacred Heart Church, 1910, at the Union Street location.
In 1908, the Susanville rumor mill circulated that the catholics wanted to build a new church. Thats kind of odd, since the existing Sacred Heart Church had just only been built 1892. In reality, they wanted to move its existing church to a new location from its Richmond Road site. Since that location was somewhat out of the way, and it was prone to vandalism.
Antone Bantley was designated to locate and negotiate the purchase inside the Susanville’s City limits. Bantley found a site on the corner of Nevada and Union Streets. The church purchased it for $325 from the L.C. Stiles Estate.
On May 26, 1909 the Lassen Weekly Mail reported, “The work on moving the Catholic Church is progressing. It will be a week or ten days before it is finally landed on the new site, judging from the progress already made. “ During this era, the church did not have a resident priest and relied on a circuit rider. On October 24, 1909, Father Thomas Horgan celebrated Mass at the new location.
L.D. McDow Residence. Courtesy of George McDow, Jr.
In 1875, Lafayette D. McDow constructed a house on what would later become of the southwest corner of Main and McDow Streets. McDow came to Lassen County in the 1860s, where he spent much of his time either operating a sawmill or mining on Diamond Mountain.
In 1920, McDow’s son, George and Russell Brownell subdivided property in the eastern portion of Susanville to be known as the Milwood Tract. Of course, McDow took the liberty to name the street after his family. His partner, Brownell did the same, when a street was named after him—Russell Avenue.
On June 28, 1928, the former McDow home was destroyed by fire. At that time, it was occupied by the J.A. Metz family. For Metz, the house was convenient, as he worked as the janitor of the nearby Lincoln School. This particular fire did not go unnoticed. It once again raised the annexation issue, since the outlying areas of Susanville were without fire protection. The battle was lost before it was begun, since opposition mounted with the main factor to become part of the city would raise taxes.It was not until 1947 when that area was annexed into the city.
Sacred Heart Church on Richmond Road, 1905. In 1909 it was moved to Union Street.
This post has nothing to do with manufactured homes. This, being Holy Week, my intent was to write the 1909 story of moving Sacred Heart Church to a different location, i.e. making it “mobile.” Numerous structures, locally, and mainly residential were moved from one location to another. This practice to this day, goes on nation wide.
Moving a house from South Lassen Street to. Foss Street, 1976
How it works today. A property owner has an old house, which is in the way of a planned development. Instead of a paying costs for demolition, offers the house for sale, usually one dollar. Of course, there is a catch. To buy the house at that price, one has to pay the cost to move the structure to a new location.
Happy Easter to my friends, Hannah who lives in a 1920s mobile home and my friend Scott, with his architectural expertise, has to deal with my definition—eye roll please. Not intentional, but it may torment Scott, since I send a occasional message with a photograph of such structures.
A portion of the local Knights of Columbus assembled at the Elk’s Lodge, 1924. Courtesy of Jean Kern
Any one who has ever been involved with a organization, whether community oriented or fraternal, knows full well that they have a tendency to have peaks and valleys. However, there times when the organization reaches a low point and never recovers.
This was the case with Mount Lassen Council #2549 of the Knights of Columbus—Susanville’s first catholic organization. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of records about this particular organization. Its initial membership was 70, with men recruited from Susanville, Westwood, Quincy and Portola. Delegates from Chico, Los Angeles and Reno were on hand with the formation of Mount Lassen Council #2549 of the Knights of Columbus. It was instituted on March 26, 1924. After Mass was celebrated, the members paraded up Main Street from the Sacred Heart Church to the Elks Lodge to have their photograph taken. From there they went to the Knoch Hall were various degrees were conducted, and to organize the new council. The day was topped off with a banquet at the St. Francis Hotel.
Initially meetings were rotated between Susanville and Westwood. However, by 1930 interest in the organization had waned, and on the eve of its tenth anniversary of formation the chapter was dissolved.
Lassen County Fair Parade, with the T&A in the background—Margaret Purdy
Note: I did come across this picture of the T&A, so I wanted to share.
Some one wanted to know about the history of Susanville’s T&A Lounge located on the corner of Main and Sacramento Streets. In 1939, my grandparents, Ira and Margaret Purdy bought the Main
Street frontage between Sacramento and Spring Streets. My grandfather had a gas station and garage on the corner of Main and Spring Streets. Ira sold the vacant lot on the corner of Main and Sacramento to Tony Tonin and Al Surian—hence the name T&A. It was a short lived partnership, but Surian’s son, Gino, still owns the establishment.
Main Street, Susanville, 1927. Note you can see where the fire burned above the Elks Lodge in 1924.
Late spring snowfalls are not unusual. Just like their counterparts of early fall snowfalls, they share a common trait—the snow melts quickly.
On March 25,1924 the Susanville area received anywhere between 18 inches to two feet of snowfall. Within twenty-four hours there was not a trace of snow. The local farmers rejoiced over their short-lived bounty, it being the driest winter on record to date. Spring rains were practically non-existent. It was a prelude of thigs to come. California would experience its worst forest fire to season to date.An interesting tidbit, the region did receive any measureable precipitation until September 15.
It was on March 20,1987, the nurses at Lassen Community Hospital, then affiliated with St. Mary’s reached an agreement ending the eight week strike. Stephanie Kruse representing St. Mary’s stated, “Everhting went very well. It is over.” While union spokeswoman, Noreen Frieling added, “The ink is on the paper. It’s done.”
Main Street, Susanville, 1885. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal
This is what the L.M. McKinney Lassen County directory had to say about Susanville in 1885:
The county seat of Lassen county, is situated about one hundred and fifty miles northeast from Sacramento, and ninety- five miles northwest from Reno, Nevada. The location itself is a peculiarly attractive one, lying as it does just at the base of the Sierra Nevadas, where the mountains give way abruptly to a comparatively level plateau and an unobstructed view over thirty miles is obtained, including almost the entire expanse of the Susan River Valley. The river itself rises in the mountains west of the town, flows past on the south side, thence in a southeasterly direction to its mouth, some twenty-five miles distant where it empties into Honey Lake. For about half of this distance (that part adjacent to Susanville) the land is thickly settled; small farms, well built and attractive residences, and large and commodious barns and outbuildings being the rule. The remaining portion of the valley will, with irrigation, unquestionably develop as well. The United States Land Office, located at this place, shows a record of 1694 cash, 1279 final homestead and 73 final desert entries, and there still remains within the limits of this district much valuable timber lands open to claimants, as well as so rated desert land which only needs irrigation to bring it up to a standard in fertility which will compare favorably with any land of the State. Susanville has one newspaper, The Lassen Advocate, weekly, which is the official county paper. It is ably conducted by Messrs, McKinsey & Hayden, proprietors. The school facilities of the town are fully up to the times; the Methodists and Congregationalists have fine and commodious church buildings, and the organizations are well sustained. Its hotel accommodations are amply provided for in two hotels, the Johnston House, a well conducted establishment, kept by Messrs, Dowling & Myers, being worthy of special mention, and among its business interests may be specially noted the Lassen Mills, with a capacity of forty-five barrels of flour per day, which is kept constantly running. Outside communications are had by daily stage line to Reno, twenty miles of this route on the end next to Reno being by rail. Two other lines are run during seven months of the year, one to a connection with the California and Northern Railroad to Oroville, and the other to Chico, connecting at that point with rail to all parts of the State. It has a money order post office, and Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express.
The Hall residence, 1895. Today, the location is the 1600 block of Susanville’s Main Street, the current location of Grocery Outlet.
Wright Patrick Hall is known for many things, especially that as a long serving Lassen County Clerk, and also that as the Lassen County Treasurer/Tax Collector. He first came to Susanville in 1860, and then moved to Nevada for a brief stay before returning. On May 22, 1877, he purchased 480 acres one half mile east of Susanville from Heiro K. Cornell for $700. In 1885, Hall began selling lots with Main Street frontage. In 1895, Hall hired surveyor William D. Minckler to plot 160 acres known as Halls Addition, but everyone called it Halltown. The bottom land of Piute Creek separated Halltown from Susanville. It was not until the 1920s that the two communities slowly grew together.
