The Smith Hotel, I have found intriguing in the sense of the lack of records. Yet, it was one of the more substantial buildings in Susanville during its day.

The founder, Jacob Smith, a german immigrant whose true spelling of his last name was Schmitt, arrived in Susanville, in the fall of 1864.  Records about his early activities conflict.  According to Fairfield’s history, Smith operated a brewery from 1865 to 1872.  Yet in December 1868 the Lassen Advocate reported that Smith and Doctor R.F. Moody were partners in a drug store. Moody filled the prescriptions and Smith sold them. The Advocate in April 1869 reported that Smith sold his drug store to Dr. Z.N. Spalding and had returned to brewing beer.

In the summer of 1877, Smith begins construction of his “fire-proof” three-story hotel. However, only the first floor was made of stone.  It was also not fire-proof as it was destroyed in the big fire of 1882. Some records state that Smith, along with his wife, Sophia, remained in the hotel business and others he continued as a brewer. Dick Harrison, a great-grandson was under the impression that Sophia operated a boarding house, but not a full-fledged hotel.

When new material surfaces, this page will be updated.

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On this date, in 1869, Susanville’s founder, Isaac N. Roop passed away at the age of 47 from pneumonia. He was buried at the Susanville Cemetery. His daughter, Susan Arnold had made arrangements for the placement of a headstone, but it was destroyed in a fire at Marysville and that was the extent.

There are, of course, numerous unmarked graves in the Susanville Cemetery due to a variety reasons. However, nearly five decades later it bothered Lassen County historian, Asa M. Fairfield, that Roop’s grave remained unmarked. Fairfield recruited the Masonic lodges of Janesville and Susanville and the Lassen Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West to rectify the situation. A large granite monument was placed at Roop’s grave.  On California’s Admission Day, 1914 witnessed the unveiling of the Roop Monument. Fairfield was disappointed that only about 70 people attended the ceremony.

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The restaurant business is a tough one that requires shear amount of work and dedication. When the Grand Cafe was first established in 1909, it would go through several owners during the next twelve years until it found some stability with the duo of Sam Vucanovich and Steve Sargent, former operators of the New Brunswick Cafe. In 1928, saw the addition of Helen Zalac, Steve’s new bride, and who became an iconic fixture of the Grand for over a half century. Continue reading The Grand Cafe & The Sargents →