Susanville’s The Big Store as it appeared in 1916. In front of the store, is their exclusive delivery car. Photograph courtesy of the Worley family
With the advent of online shopping with free delivery, and with the conditions caused by Covid-19 and surge of online grocery shopping, in pre-internet times, such services were available in Susanville. In 1915, Fehr & Worley’s Big Store, located at 722 Main Street (the current home of Margie’s Book Nook) implemented free grocery delivery. Telephone the store, and place your order, simple as that. Over the years, other stores, followed suit. The last to do so was Hill’s Market at 629 Main Street, in the early 1970s.
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One facility Susanville sorely lacked was a post office building. The Susanville Post Office was established in 1858, and was always housed in some commercial building, with the Knoch building housing it for decades. During the depression of the 1930s, the residents hoped the federal government would fund a post office building. They did. On March 1, 1937 the government purchased the residence of Stanley Wade on the corner of North Lassen and Nevada Streets for $6,750. Construction began that summer and the post office officially opened on June 1, 1938.
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View of Richmond Road January 1916 from Winchester Hill. Susanville received four feet of snow in January, followed by below zero temperatures. After that it was the beginning of a twenty-year drought, with Honey Lake going dry in 1919, and not filling up until the spring of 1938.
On October 2, 1916 Susanville received its first snowfall for the season, just enough to blanket the town. On the other hand it was reported there were seven inches of snow on Fredonyer Summit. After the storm passed through the temperature plummeted to 22 degrees. As one observer noted, while not cold enough to begin ice harvesting season, no one had to tend to their vegetable garden.
Is a early snowstorm a harbinger for a long cold, snowy winter? Not exactly. Many years, it turns out, when there is an early snowfall, usually is just the opposite and tends to be drier than normal winter. In this case, the winter of 1916-17 marked the beginning of a twenty-year drought.
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This is to inform any one interested if you want to obtain a copy of my epic book on Susanville, I would not suggested you procrastinate. My inventory is very at about twenty-five copies, and once its gone, its gone. To learn more about the book and to order see books.
Known today as the Susanville Ranch Park, for many years it was the John T. Long Ranch.
Susanville Ranch Park is a 1,100-acre county park located on the northwest edge of Susanville. In 1856, William Weatherlow settled there and remained until his death in 1864. William Long purchased the ranch and his family operated it for nearly fifty years. In 1935, Republic Electric Power acquired the property, which was succeeded by CP National. In 1984, that power company donated the land to the County of Lassen.
Since that time, it has evolved into an open space park. It contains twenty-eight miles of hiking trails! Motorized vehicles are prohibited. The trails vary for the casual walker all the way to advanced mountain bikers.
Personally, I think September and October are some of the best times to go hiking, whether a leisurely stroll, or something more strenuous. At the main parking lot, there is an informative kiosk, which one can pick up a free brochure and map of the trails. Go explore and enjoy this wonderful asset.
For a bit of historical trivia relating to the park. In 1966, Lassen College examined the property as a possible location for its new campus. They liked what they saw, but the asking price of $3,500 was beyond their means.
North side of the Lassen County Courthouse., 1920 during a pogonip.
In the 1920s, golfing became all the rage nationally and locally. In the 1930s, two other sporting activities came to the forefront—skiing and tennis. In the past, we have explored how the ski areas of Coppervale and Willard came to be.
In 1935, the local 20-30 club, a civic organization whose focus was on youth development and leadership saw the need for public tennis courts. They approached the County of Lassen with a request to use property on the courthouse square near the intersection of Roop and Mill Streets. It would not cost the county, and the county obliged. The club held fundraisers and by the fall of 1935, the tennis courts became a reality.
This topic, also falls under the elusive photograph category, as I have never come across any. How, long the tennis courts remained, is not clear, but in 1962, the courthouse annex was built on the site.
In the spring of 1916, California State Highway Commissioner, H.S. Cromley, announced that convict labor from Folsom State Prison would be used for the initial construction of a state highway between Susanville and Red Bluff. Cromley made it clear the inmate labor was not forced and those who wanted to do such work was voluntarily. In the meantime, Lassen County officials lobbied hard that initial construction be done to connect the communities of Susanville and Westwood. They were successful.
On August 25, 1916, 54 convicts (the term used then) from Folsom State Prison set up a camp just west of Susanville, it being. the site of today’s California Division of Forestry headquarters for the region. When not working the inmates were allowed to roam freely, such as hiking down the canyon to the Susan River to swim. They were, however, prohibited, to go into Susanville.
The inmates worked two eight hour shifts. The main focus was work on the entrance into Susanville, a new survey route would enter the town connecting with South Pine Street, versus the old route of Prattville Road and North Pine Street. One other accomplishment was the survey of a new route over Fredonyer Summit. The camp remained opened longer than usual, due to weather conditions, and shut down on December 15, 1916.
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Whitely’s Furniture Store, circa 1956—W.V. Laughead
This is one of those instances, that I am relying on seasoned residents to provide the information. Whitely’s Furniture Store was located on the 1400 block of Main Street. While the building is still there, it has been through many tenants over the years. If anyone knows when it was built or anything else, I hope you share it with the rest of us.
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Fruit Growers Supply Company housing, Susanville, 1924—Boyd Benham/Connie Boomer
This was a major labeling blunder by the photographer. The scene depicted is Fruit Growers housing for mill employees in Susanville, located along Alexander Avenue. When Fruit Growers proposed to locate in Susanville, they had wanted to avoid to provide housing, whereas their operation at Hilt was a complete company town. They had hoped some enterprising individuals would step up to the plate to provide housing. That was asking a lot, since Fruit Growers would need housing for over 1,000 employees and their families. Fruit Growers would eventually build 80 houses, in addition to dormitories at a cost of $245,000.
Camp A, Fruit Growers Supply Company, located just north of McCoy Flat Reservoir, 1921
The above was a typical Fruit Growers logging camp, that consisted of portable cabins that could be easily moved by rail from one location to another.
Minckler came to the Honey Lake Valley from his native Wisconsin and settled near present day Standish in 1872, with his grandmother, Hannah Lax, and his mother, Mary Kelley. It should be noted that he never met his half-brother Elbern Kelley who drowned in Honey Lake in 1863 at the age of 9. Minckler was a civil engineer for nearly thirty-five years. The position of county surveyor in Minckler’s lifetime was an elected one. He was elected twice, first in 1882, and again in 1890. Among the projects Minckler did in the private sector was that of Ward Lake, Hall’s Addition and Lassen Townsite, which is a huge subdivision from Richmond Road extending all the way past present day Plumas Bank to San Francisco Street—that location better known for a farmer’s market during the summer months.
In the Lassen Townsite subdivision a street was named after him, as were many of the investors, such as Alexander, Knoch, and Pardee. Its probably a good thing for Minckler, since there is no marker for his grave in the Susanville Cemetery. Those very seasoned residents of Susanville might remember when the Susanville Branch of the Lassen County Free Library was in a small building next to Susanville’s City Hall on North Lassen Street. That structure was originally Minckler’s office building.
Minckler’s survey crew to enlarge the Buggytown ditch near Johnstonville, 1889. It is better known today as in intake channel for Leavitt Lake. Courtesy of Betty Barry Deal
