In 1871, M.O. Folsom (1845-1931) moved with his family from Virginia City, Nevada to Willow Creek Valley, just north of Susanville. In 1873, he became a partner with his brother Louis, when they purchased 600 acres in the Willow Creek Valley.  When his father passed away in 1903, He took his possession of that ranch. In 1908, Folsom sold ranch to the Hill & Lonkey Land & Livestock Company and moved to Susanville. It should be noted, that his father, Orman, dabbled in real estate, and purchased Hank Landt’s Clear Creek property. In 1909, the younger Folsom sold it to the Red River Lumber Company for $6,500.

In 1911, M.O. Folsom entered into the subdivision field, with his East Addition to Susanville. This we explored, and you can read about it here.  The subdivision did not meet his expectations, though not a failure, the real action was the south side of town where the railroad was located. Folsom, however, did serve on the committees to secure the Fruit Growers Supply Company and Lassen Lumber and Box Company’s mils.The mills more than tripled the town’s population, thus a golden opportunity for island speculation. For instance, in 1922,  Folsom sold a parcel land to the Susanville School District for $9,000 the future home of Lincoln School.

Folsom also had a benevolent side. In 1929, he offered the future site of Memorial Park to the Susanville Rotary Club at a bargain price. It was a complicated affair that ultimately fell through. He also owned what now known as Hobo Camp, along the Susan River, near Susanville. It was known as Folsom Park, a favorite picnic spot among locals.

Folsom passed away in 1931 and is buried in the family plot in the Susanville Cemetery. In 2005, his granddaughter and only heir, Mary Dale Folsom, still owned several parcels that once belonged to her  grandfather.

Tim

In 1864, German immigrant, David Goldstein, along with fellow countryman, William Greehn arrived in Susanville and opened a general merchandise store. They named their enterprise D. Goldstein & Company. In 1871, they dissolved their partnership and Goldstein moved on to greener pastures. In 1874, Greehn entered into a partnership with Morris Asher. It would eventually be a life changing  event for the two men.

In 1882, Morris Asher married Fannie Greehn, William’s oldest daughter. In 1887, Greehn relinquished his interest in the store, and devoted himself full-time as a lending institution. There were no banks in Susanville, so those who had financial means, lent money. Of course, the borrowers not only had to sign a promissory note, but mortgage any real property they might possess to the lender, in this Greehn. Those that had defaulted on their loans, Greehn took them to court and usually became owner of the borrower’s real property. Greehn would eventually own quite the portfolio of real estate, like what would become known as the Five Dot Ranch in the Willow Creek Valley, the Leonard residence, which became known as the Susanville Elk’s Lodge and the Bremner Sawmill on the Susan River. In 1902, Green retired and moved to Byron, Contra Costa County, where his daughter, Hattie Grunauer resided. He passed away in 1907.

Morris Asher continued with the general mercantile business. In 1912, in 700 block of Main Street, he had a stone business building constructed, which embedded in the stone named the  Greehn Building in honor of his father-in-law. It still remains today.

Greehn’s descendants have made last lasting impact in the motion picture and television industry, and we will explore that topic shortly.

Tim

Here is your Tuesday Tidbit. For decades this was a popular grocery store in the uptown district located in the Knoch Building. You can read more about here. It closed some time in the early 1970s.

Tim

Did you ever notice that North Street runs in an east-west direction? It does not make sense, until you go way back when Susanville was first surveyed. There you find the answer to this perplexing issue. You see, North Street was most northern street in the town. The same thing happened in the 1920s with an adjoining subdivision to the south, in which South Street became the most southern street. And here is trivia about North Street. When town, as mentioned was surveyed in 1863, Roop Street ended at Weatherlow. In 1910, it was extended to Hall Street. This met with teamsters glee to avoid the muddy bog on Main Street created by Piute Creek.

Another peculiarity is that of Roop and Weatherlow Streets and that they should be reversed.. This was pointed out to me  many years ago when Eleanor Vandeburgh and I worked at the museum. After all, her reasoning was, one would think Weatherlow Street should have been designated as Roop, since it went to his original home. Weatherlow lived at the end of Roop Street, though it did not extend that far, since his original home located  at Susanville Ranch Park. On the same token, Weatherlow Street went by Roop’s original home.

Tim

In the early 1900s a number of Susanville’s restaurants were operated by Chinese, though serving American cuisine.  The Grand Cafe was just such an establishment. It was established in 1909 by Kwan Wong in the rear of the Pioneer saloon.

In 1912, O.M. Doyle built a two-story stone building next to the Pioneer, which the latter had used the vacant lot as a beer garden.  Doyle named the building the Wee-Wee, a nickname given to his daughter, Marie. On May 3, 1912, Kwan Wong opened the Grand Cafe in that building, where it has been ever since, though the original building was accidentally  demolished in 1934.

Wong operated the Grand off and on for several more years. On trips back to China, he would lease it, and other times just close it until his return. On January 15, 1915, the Lassen Weekly Mail reported: The Grand Cafe closes its doors. The Grand Cafe is without an angel. Kwan Wong, its late proprietor, has quit for good, as he could not do enough business to make expenses.” 

It would not be until 1921, that the Grand Cafe found stability in its ownership with Sam Vucanovich and Steve Sargent. That is another story, for another time.

Support

The 1930s were a financially difficult time for Med Arnold, the grandson of the town’s founder, Isaac Roop. In a desperate need of funds, on October 8, 1936, Arnold put Roop’s iconic landmark up for sale. This in turn spurred a grass roots campaign movement to raise funds.  In May 1937, the City of Susanville purchased it.

Some thought that property could also be developed for a sorely needed children’s playground. While the city thought was admirable, it had no funds to make it a reality. Then there was issue that fort, which been used a hay barn and storage, had fallen into a disrepair. Since, it was the town’s oldest structure, it was deemed the foremost priority to do the needed repairs and new roof. The community once again rose to the occasion, and volunteers came to the rescue.

In 1974, Roop’s Fort was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

Subscribe

Susanville photographer, Jervie Eastman, (1880-1969), opened his studio in that community in 1921. He constantly expanded his enterprise, first by buying the local competition, Thompson Studios.

In the fall of 1931 he unveiled his traveling photography studio. It was customized trailer complete with bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room/reception room and a photography studio. It measured 8 feet wide, 20 feet long and six feet high.  The announcement stated “The Eastman Studio No. 2 is wired so that it can be connected to the light lines in any community in which the owner decides to stop. Photographs can be taken and completed without the photographer stepping outside.”

Tim