Susanville Rotary Club received its charter on Saturday. May 15, 1926. There were twenty-one charter members: M.D. Collins, Harry S. Coleman, Robert M. Cook, Henry M. Elliott, Dr. Gordon R. Fortson, Thomas E. Hunter, Hans P. Peterson, Arthur J. Mathews, Harry A. McBride, Charles McGowan, James A. Pardee, E.L. Shirley, Ernest W. Smith. John B. Spalding, John J. Woodward, Frank H. Bangham, Thomas W. Blight, Charles H. Bridges, L.R. Cady, B.D. Cardinal and Frank Coffin.
The following Wednesday the Rotary Club held its first luncheon meeting. There were a few kinks. Of the seventeen members present, they gathered at the Republic Grill on South Gay Street for lunch. Afterwards, they proceeded to walk one block up to the Hotel Mt. Lassen for the business portion of the meeting. It was their intention to hold the luncheon meeting at the hotel. However, the hotel was still under construction, and while portions of the building were completed, the kitchen was not. A temporary solution was found were the luncheon meetings were held in the basement of the Methodist Church, with the women of that church doing the cooking and serving. This situation lasted a little bit longer than anticipated, since the Mt. Lassen Coffee Shop did not open for business until July 20, 1926.
Fire and fire prevention played a pivotal role in the development of Susanville. It was fire after all, why the city was formed. The original city/fire hall was a tall wooden structure that was destroyed by fire on November 7, 1921.
At the same time the City Council was dealing with a pressing issue with Fire (Insurance) Underwriters had proposed a hefty increase for insurance premiums of property inside the city limits. The Underwriters two main concerns the water mains were insufficient and the lack of an adequate fire department. The City addressed and worked with Frank Cady, owner of the local water company, to fix that problem.
On May 9, 1922, a newly re-organized Susanville Volunteer Fire Department was created. It initially consisted of five men: H.W. Wharton, Uel J. Travis, Ted Murphy, John Greig and Walter Agee. Baldwin was named fire chief. One of their first priorities was to recruit and train volunteers. More progress was made that year with the purchase of an American LaFrance Fire Truck.In addition, a Gamewell fire alarm system was installed throughout the town
In the fall the Board of Fire Underwriters representatives came to Susanville for inspection. While they were pleased with the improvements, there was one additional requirement—a paid fireman. The City obliged and hire Walter Long at $125 a month. The hard work paid off, instead of an increase on fire insurance premiums they were reduced by 10 percent.
Many people are indifferent about chain stores, and then there are those who think they are wonderful, and the other camp that truly despises them. In the 1920s, with Susanville’s tremendous population growth, chain stores emerged on the scene. While the old established merchants were not thrilled, the Susanville consumer enjoyed a broader selection. The first chain store to enter the Susanville market, was a Wyoming outfit known as Stevens Store Company and in 1929 it became. J.C. Penney.
Enter R.L. Stone, who had a different approach for shopping in Susanville. Cash and Carry. It should be noted it was rather customary of merchants, to allow their customers to charge their purchase. It was a risky endeavor at times for the merchant to recover those charged accounts. Stone’s concept a reduced price, but be paid in cash, no credit. It worked beyond expectations. It was in November 1923 when Stone opened his first store in the T.H. Long building. With his brothers they opened additional stores. By 1927, when they incorporated as Stone’s Cash Stores they had nineteen stores in California, Oregon and Washington. In 1929, Stones merged with another chain store MacMarr. In 1934, Safeway acquired MacMarr.
Susanville’s Stewart House, 1881. Courtesy of Dallas & Joyce Snider
In the spring of 1881, Alex Arnold, owner of the Susanville Water Works, made an offer to the business community for fire suppression. He proposed to install a six-inch pipeline from his holding tank at the west end of town run the entire length of the town’s Main Street at that time (Pine to Weatherlow). In addition, four or five fire hydrants would be installed. The estimated cost was $1,000. Arnold asked the businessmen to purchase it. In return, he would provide free labor to install the pipe and hydrants. In doing so, this would reduce insurance rates and they could quickly recover the costs. They bickered about the costs, and nothing was done.
Fast forward to 1884, after three disastrous fires, the Arnold pipeline proposal was resurrected. Even with the pipeline there was another fire suppression cost—equipment. A hand engine (hose cart), hose and cisterns would cost $800. In April 1884, a petition was submitted to the Lassen County Board of Supervisors to form a fire district for the Susanville Township. On May 6, 1884, the Susanville Fire District was formed.
One of the first order of business was a special election for a proposed tax assessment. That was held on May 24, 1884, and it was approved 67 to 9. By late fall, with money in hand, the Arnold pipeline proposal was in earnest. On January 5, 1885, was a historic day in the history of fire suppression for Susanville. The fire hydrants were in place and the hose cart arrived. It was time to test the new system. It worked. The water pressure from the pipeline allowed the volunteer firemen to shoot water over the two-story Steward House Hotel, the town’s tallest building.
A view of the Tablelands in the distance from Shaffer Peak.June 13, 2018
Susanville and the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) had an awkward relationship since the railroad’s inception. At first it was idyllic as the initial railroad survey would enter Susanville. Then things deteriorated when in 1887, the NCO decided to bypass the west side of the Honey Lake Valley, to the remote east side of the valley.
The strained relationship never improved. In 1899, when NCO extended its line north to Hot Springs Station (Wendel) Susanville residents reached out to the NCO with a proposal. They tried to persuade NCO officials to build a feeder to line Susanville. They cited the potential to tap the vast timber resources to the west. The answer was no. However, if the residents wanted to finance it at a cost of $100,000 the railroad would be agreeable. That was not going to happen, since the community could not even raise $500 to build a town hall.
Fast forward twenty-one years later. The NCO was in financial shambles. In 1917, it sold the southern segment of its line from Hackstaff (Herlong) to Reno. In 1921 the NCO petitioned the Interstate Railroad Commission to abandon its line, due to substantial operating losses. After several public hearings the commission denied the request. It said the railroad could reduce its costs by operating a tri-weekly service instead of daily, eliminate the president’s $10,000 a year salary and close its New York office.
Ironically, Susanville once again courted the Morans, owners of the NCO. This time it was Russell Brownell of the Lassen County Chamber of Commerce who spearheaded the movement. He wanted the NCO to reroute its line from Snowstorm across the Tablelands to Belfast thence to Susanville as the terminus. This would provide Susanville with an alternate railroad to serve the northern sectors. The plan received wide spread support, and the Fruit Growers Supply Company donated its services and surveyed the proposed route. However, the NCO’s president, Charles Moran balked at the idea. Brownell informed Moran that if Susanville was the terminus it could double that line’s tonnage, and save the financially troubled railroad. Brownell died suddenly in January 1923, and with his death the proposal also died. In February 1923, Moran changed his mind and said he would like Susanville to be terminus, but the railroad could not finance it. It was a costly delay on Moran’s part, since the old offer was no longer valid.
In 1925, the NCO entered into an agreement to sell the beleaguered line to the Southern Pacific. In 1926, Lassen County officials approached Southern Pacific with Brownell’s proposal, though it went nowhere.
It being Easter Sunday, I thought it would only be appropriate to provide some of the history of religion in our region. The Methodist Church had a profound influence on the Honey Lake Valley. In 1860, this church held their first service in Susanville. By 1905, there were Methodist Churches in Janesville, Johnstonville, Standish and, of course, Susanville, more than any other denomination. Continue reading Easter Sunday→
Granville Pullen first came to Lassen County in 1870 and worked at various jobs. In the 1880s he located to Sonoma County, but made frequent visits to Lassen County to see his sister, Susan Goumaz. In 1901, he moved back to Lassen County and bought a ranch near Janesville. In 1914, at the age of 76, he retired from ranching and bought a house in Janesville.
Pullen had been collecting various artifacts and curios for over forty years. Not to be idle he opened a small museum in Janesville to display his collection after he had sold his ranch. People fascinated by his collection began donating items to him. In 1920, Granville and his wife Mary, moved to Susanville and bought a home on South Roop Street. Next to his new home, he had a small concrete building built to house his museum. On June 18, 1921, he opened the museum to the public. When he passed away in 1926, his wife kept the museum open for awhile, but she did not have the same passion as her husband. Over the years, she donated a portion of the collection to Lassen County. The items were displayed for a number of years in the Veteran’s building, and over time slowly disappeared.
When the trustees of Lassen Union High School made the decision to a build a new school, time was of the essence. Glenn Wemple, who was on the board, informed me that they did not want to make the same mistake as what happened to the Orland High School. These types of school hold a tremendous amount of emotional attachment in their respective community. Orland moved slow and it created a great deal of anger and resentment.
Akol & Associates of San Francisco were hired as the architects for the new school. The estimated cost to construct a new campus on site of the existing was $2,317,410. It would be done in two phases. For Phase One, bids were required to be submitted no later than April 12, 1967. Five bids were received and initially the trustees took no action. A week later, the trustees rejected all bids. New bids were solicited for no later than May 15. On May 16, 1967 the trustees accepted the bid of C&J Construction Company of Reno, Nevada. On Friday afternoon, June 23, 1967 a groundbreaking ceremony was held behind the main school building.
Fruit Growers Supply Company show casing their latest Caterpillar tractors, with the Fairfield Apartments in the background.
When the two large lumber mills were established it created a housing shortage. While both Fruit Growers and Lassen Lumber did construct some residential housing and apartments, there was still a need for more. There was one group in particular that needed some form of housing—loggers. Many of these men were single, so there was building boom for apartments and boarding houses.
Constructed in 1922, the Fairfield Apartments (aptly named it was located on South Fairfield Street) was one of the largest. It initially contained twenty-two rooms. It was destroyed by fire on July 29, 1941. While it was fully occupied, every escaped without injury. The building valued at $20,000 was only partially insured at $6,000.
In 1955, Fruit Growers Supply Company announced its closing of the Westwood mill. Over the hill in Susanville, many pondered when Fruit Growers might do the same there. The Susanville mill would receive a brief reprieve.
In 1957 six paper companies were interested in Fruit Growers cutover lands in Lassen County. While California ranked second in the nation for lumber production, there was only one paper/pulp plant in the state. Fruit Growers had debated at one time to convert the Susanville mill into such a facility, but it was just not going to happen.
On November 7, 1962 the beginning of the end was announced with the closure of the Susanville mill. The woods employees were permanently laid off. The mill would remain in operation until the logs on hand were processed. On May 13, 1963 the last log was sawn. Shortly afterwards the remaining employees terminated and the mill closed. There being no buyers it appeared the mill was destined to be dismantled. It did receive a last minute reprieve with negotiations of Crook & Emmerson, but that is another story. On April 30, 1964, Homer Vincent closed Fruit Growers” Susanville office.
