Susanville native, Charles “Charlie” Emerson was born on August 5, 1868. He was one of the rags to riches story. A year after his birth, his father deserted his family. Slowly, but surely the budding entrepreneur ventured in the business world, and was doing quite well.

In 1900, Emerson announced he was going to build the town’s premiere commercial establishment—a three story brick hotel. Completed in 1901, it became the town’s social hub. In 1913, the hotel’s neighbor to the west, the Blue Goose Saloon caught fire. It should be noted the Blue Goose had the town’s first neon sign, which shorted out and caused the fire. The hotel received minimal damage. Emerson purchased the burned out lot, and built an annex to his hotel. There is an issue about the annex, but that will have to wait for another day.

Back to Emerson’s birthday. Shortly after midnight on August 5, 1915, a fire was discovered in Emerson’s warehouse on Cottage Street, adjacent to the Methodist Church. The fire spread rapidly due to west winds, sending embers across the alley and igniting the Emerson Hotel, located on the corner of Main and South Lassen Streets. Two adjacent buildings facing on Lassen Street–the Hyer Hotel and the Methodist Church–also caught on fire.  When it was realized that it was futile to try and save the buildings, all efforts were focused on keeping it contained. The losses were staggering, estimated at over $250,000. Emerson never fully recovered.

Years later, Emerson’s daughter Mae Ables, recalled  the tragic event: “I was home for summer vacation from college when the hotel burned on my father’s birthday and stood with his arm around me in the middle of the street and watched it go with all our worldly possessions and Dad’s business records of years destroyed.”

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Some one wanted to know if I had a photograph of the gas station located at Main and South Roop Street, Susanville. Well, here it is. I remember it, but it had been closed for a long time. The site is now a vacant lot.

Back in 1950s and 1960s there gas stations galore, then referred to as service stations. Back in the day, at the same time, there were plenty of bars, too.

Tim

In the spring of 1924 witnessed the development of Susanville’s first golf course. It was an outstanding success that gave birth to the Susanville Country Club.  For the new organization the timing was exquisite. It just happened that in the summer of 1924, the Lassen Lumber & Box Company purchased George Wingfield’s summer home some eight miles south of Susanville along the base of Diamond Mountain. Equally important one of the lumber company’s executives, A.G. Breitwieser was a big proponent of golf.

In the fall of 1924, not only had the local “duffers” outgrown the first golf course, that a golden opportunity came there way. The Lassen Lumber & Box offered the Wingfield property to the Susanville Country Club at a bargain price of $20,000.  It was reported that Wingfield had spent $335,000 to develop the property.

The club sold stock to finance the purchase. In addition, the club offered an exclusive 100 resident membership and 50 non-resident.  The cost $250. that, however, included a lot to build a personal cottage. In addition, there was a a five dollar monthly dues. This was not a deterrent and within a few short weeks, the club had a full charter membership.

The good times did not last that long. In the fall of 1931, L.R. Cady and Frank Coffin purchased the property, thus ending a chapter in the Susanville Country Club.

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For a brief time, Susanville had its own Edsel Dealership though it did not last long. In 1957 it was housed in a brand new building at 80 North Roop Street.  Of course, Ford’s Edsel automobile was a failure and the model soon abandoned. Many seasoned residents will recall this building housed the California Department of Motor Vehicles for many years. It is now the home to Lasco and Rooptown Bicycles.

Tim

Supposedly, today marks the closure of the California Correctional Center on the eve of its dedication sixty years ago. The following is an extract from the Humboldt Times of Eureka California about the dedication:

”Before a throng of enthusiastic home townsmen, plus scores of interested correction officials. from other Western States, Governor Edmund G. Brown Saturday [July 13, 1963] dedicated the California Correctional Center the nation’s newest concept in corrections.

The $9 million institution for 1200 inmates is a pioneering idea, the first of four such centers to be built in California.

”In a former timber economy now reverting to agricultural and recreation, business leaders of Susanville and Lassen County look upon the new facility as their own. They threw a banquet for state Senator Stanley Arnold of Susanville, author of the enabling legislation for the entire program, and the laurels were almost unprecedent.

”Besides the stimulus of actual construction, the new facility has 260 Department of Corrections employees and 30 from the Division of Forestry. These are permanent, mostly with families, and their annual payroll is more than $1,750,000”

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