For nearly a century there were water tanks located at the base of Inspiration Point, that served as the town’s water supply. The only reason why I bring this up, it had became part of the discussion at the original Inspiration Point Tour. While subscriber’s do receive the narrative of the tour, the dialogue and discussions by attendees are not included. One of the interesting features about these old tanks, and the above picture highlights the fact that there were no covers on the tanks.

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While examining the file of L.L. Frost, one of the graves that we will be visiting on the forthcoming Centennial Cemetery tour, there were a couple of interesting photographs in the file. This particular one caught my attention, as it shows the old auto court on Quarry Street at the base of Inspiration Point. Usually, photographers crop off at Pine Street, so one rarely sees this little known area of Susanville.

Tomorrow, I will have more details about the cemetery tour, with times and dates, so one has plenty of time to mark your calendar.

From time to time we will examine the wide variety of homes in the region. Of course, this topic is long over due, and Barbara thank you for your patience, and I am working on your house, too!

Featured above is the J.A. Gilman residence located at 1913 Main Street, Susanville and now the office of Town and Country Real Estate. It was built in 1898, and other family members built houses surrounding it. The Gilman’s were in the sheep business during its hey day, and retired from it before it collapsed in the 1920s and 1930s.

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In the early 1920s, chain stores began to make their appearance in Susanville. Reactions, or course, were mixed. Many a consumer enjoyed the new shopping experience with not only a wider selection of goods, but they found the price right, too. There were the loyalist crowd, that remained with their old independent pioneer merchant, who took care of the, through good and bad times, the latter that merchant would provide a line credit. However, changes were inevitable, one either adapted or perished.

These new stores also changed the appearance of the town. In the spring of 1940, Cliff Gledhill, moved a historic 1870s residence from 30 South Roop, to the farthest end of that street. Shortly thereafter, construction began on a small concrete building on the vacant lot he created. On May 22, 1940, Gledhill opened the doors there to his new enterprise, a Western Auto Store. Over the years, the building has had many occupants. Seasoned residents will know it as the office of Dr. C.I. Burnett, and for the past few decades it has been the CPA office of Carol J. Curry.

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It was seventy years today when the Hotel Mt. Lassen in Susanville was destroyed by fire. In 1902, Susanville passed an ordinance that all future buildings constructed in the business district be built of fire-proof material, whether brick, masonry or native stone. In time, this greatly reduced major fires. For nearly twenty years, the district did not experience any major fires, until one broke out in the basement of the Hotel Mt. Lassen on July 24, 1947. The building was completely gutted, two employees perished in the blaze and with damages at $700,000. It was the costliest fire to date in Susanville.

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Okay, I am posting a shameless plug, but I do want to get the word out that the old Purdy home at 500 Cottage Street, is on the market. For details contact Linda White at 530-310-2930 or realtychicks@gmail.com

On the other hand, I will still provide some historical material related to the property, since there have only been two structures located there. Susanville first’s church, the Congregational Church was built there in the mid-1870s. In 1906, Susanville merchant, Charlie Emerson purchased the abandoned church, and moved it to 607 Cottage Street where he converted into a warehouse. In August 1915, that building caught fire and destroyed most of that block. In 1929, Wes Emerson built the house on the old church lot.

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