A view of Westwood with Keddie Ridge in the background,, Dyer Mountain is northern post on Keddie Ridge. It is also where to Sierra Nevada ends and the Southern Cascades begins. 1955.
On November 7, 2000 the Lassen County voters approved a contentious ballot initiative to amend the county’s General Plan, Zoning Ordinance and the Westwood Area Plan to allow the development of a four-season resort near Westwood known as Dyer Mountain. It was proposed to build three golf courses, ski runs, along with thousands of houses, condos along with commercial retail projects. It became a heated issue fought by environmental groups. Plagued with financial and legal issues the project was derailed.
Robbers Creek, 1918, I do not think its near Susanville.
A few years back, I published this photograph. However, I could never figure out the location. Now, I know. It is crossing of Robbers Creek to the north of Westwood. Since this is some twenty miles away from Susanville, in my opinion, I do not consider that near. The photographer named Engel, who I admire his work. took some winter scenes at Westwood in1918, and instead of giving the location of that lumber town, Engel, as he did in the above photograph affixed the label “near Susanville.” I will be including a Westwood photograph by Engel in the 2025 Calendar.
T.B. Walker spent the winter and early spring of 1913 at San Francisco to monitor the progress of the construction of the mill and the future company town of Westwood. Not all was going well. Not only his son Clinton was adamant that Mountain Meadows was not the right place for the mill, contractor in charge agreed as well.
In the spring T.B. Walker was ready to return home to Minneapolis. He wanted to visit Westwood, but had to decline. He could not travel there via Susanville, since there was a movement on foot to relocate the mill. The other option was take the Western Pacific train via the Feather River Canyon. Walker had a fear of that canyon, that he could get caught in a rock slide.
It was not until the summer of 1917 that Walker made the trip. He had a special guest, John Andrus. Andrus was a New York investor who help finance T.B.’s acquisition of Northern California timberland. They formed the Waland Lumber Company with the intent to build a sawmill in their holdings. Andrus had never seen these holdings, thus Walker’s invite. On July 7, the entourage arrived in Westwood. It was a low key affair and most the time was spent touring the Northern California properties.
Goodrich Creek, Mountain Meadows, 1914-Minnesota Historical Society
Mountain Meadows located in the western section of Lassen County comprises some 12,000 acres. Prior to the establishment of Westwood in 1912, its hub of activity was at Coppervale. More about that in a minute.
In 1860, Dr. Atlas Fredonyer became the first settler. He remained there for two years and William B. Long briefly settled on his claim. In the early 1860s copper was discovered in the vicinity. When Carlton C. Goodrich petitioned for a post office he suggested the name of Coppervale. It was granted and the Coppervale Post Office opened for business on May 24, 1864 with Goodrich as first postmaster.
In 1885, L.M. McKenney’s Directory of Northern California provided the following description of Coppervale: “A small town with a post office situated midway between Prattville and Susanville. sixteen miles from the latter place. It has a try-weekly stage route each way between these two points. Mountain Meadows, in which the town is located, has an area of 12,000 acres, principally devoted to stock raising and dairying.”
In 1886, Goodrich passed away. He owned 7,650 acres there. He had put up on the market in 1885, but it was not until 1909 his estate sold it to John Crouch. Crouch would later sell it to the Red River Lumber Company where that Company established the town of Westwood.
In 1888, the Mountain Meadows School District was organized. A school house was built in 1892. In 1902 the school was closed for a lack of students.
A primary reason the region did fully develop in the late 1800s was the weather. Mountain Meadows is susceptible to heavy winter snows. A number of the ranchers who located there wintered at Red Bluff.
The last board milled at Westwood and signed by those last workers.
In January 1999, a relic of Westwood’s past was found in the old Community Center at Hilt. It was a piece of vertical grain Douglas Fir 5 1/2 inches wide, 9 inches high and 1 1/2 inches thick. It was the last board cut in the dry lumber department at Westwood in 1956, signed by the last workers. The board was put on display at Fruit Growers headquarters, then located at Sherman Oaks. Since Fruit Growers has moved from location there is not telling as what became of it.
The board was signed by Joe P. Gonzalez, Ronald Edmonds, Roy Evans, J.A. Conrad, Haley L. Roper, Charlie Watkins, George Bliss, D.O. “Smokey” Phelan, Robert Cox, Joe Stripling, Thomas Cooper, H.A. Stevens, John A. Saborido, Florida Valdez, Tio Salveltti, Justin Temple, George C. Raymond, “Whitey” Weldon Snook, Jack Bates, Geo. H. Gowing, Reuben F. Larkin, William Doeering, Glen Snook, Albert Watkins, Wilbern Taylor, Alfred Mardesen, Jay Guttered, William A. Sievers, Everett Hall, Leonard F. Lagnear and Anthony Farrace.
Red River Lumber Company’s labor problems in Westwood during the 1930s is a perfect case study on how to do everything wrong. There was, of course the great purge of in which nearly 400 men, women and children were forced out of their homes in Westwood on July 13, 1938 over a labor dispute. By the end of that historic day the California Highway Patrol, with the National Guard on standby placed a blockade on the community, sealing it from the outside world until things could stabilize.
I do not think we will encounter anything like this. Yes, it was a scary time during the strike of 1938 at Westwood.
According to historian Gerald Rose about the historical significance of the Red River purge he wrote, “Not until the 1941 deportation of Japanese-Americans was there a larger forced migration of United States citizens.”
701 Nevada Street, Susanville, October 7, 1939–H. Frodsham photograph
In 1912, the Great Western Power Company was in the midst of the construction of Nevis Dam to create Lake Almanor. The company hired Dr. Fred J. Davis to provide medical care for the construction workers. In September 1913, Red River Lumber Company hired Dr. Davis to provide medical care to its newly constructed company town of Westwood. Dr. Davis would remain in charge of the Westwood Hospital until 1939. Dr. Davis, along with son, Dr. Fred J. Davis, Jr., moved to Susanville to open their private practice. At 701 Nevada Street, Susanville they had an office constructed. In 1965 Dr. Davis Sr. retired. In 1974, Dr. Fred J. Davis Jr. retired and he sold the office to Dr. Jay Beams. In 2022. Beams closed the office, which now sits vacant.
A view of Westwood with Keddie Ridge in the background, 1955.
Truth be known when Red River put its mill plant and town on the market in the early 1940s, no one wanted it. Some of the factors were an aging mill facility and majority of the tributary timber depleted. There was also the major headache of operating a town. It was not until Red River sweetened the proposition with the Burney Tract that contained an estimated one billion board feet of timber that made it more attractive. Reluctantly, Fruit Growers Supply Company succumbed and made the purchase.
Major changes were on the horizon and the universal adoption of the cardboard box changed the way Fruit Growers business operations in the future. On August 25, 1955 Fruit Growers announced it would shut down the Westwood plant. Since it appeared there was not market for the mill, Fruit Growers sold everything the following year to a liquidator Wershow and Weiz of Los Angeles. For Fruit Growers one of its greatest relief it no longer had the complicated burden of maintaining a town.
Westwood Hospital, February 14, 1938–H. Frodsham photograph
The Westwood Hospital remained opened even after Fruit Growers closed the mill. The new owners Wershow & Weisz did not want to operate the aging facility. They offered to give it to Lassen County along with $5,300, the cost they estimated to make the improvements to the building required to meet fire regulations. Lassen County was not interested. The county stated if the Westwood residents could form a special tax district for the hospital. On June 24, 1958 the few remaining patients were transferred to Chester and Susanville.
Missing in action during the final days of the hospital’s fate was long-time physician Dr. Herman Levin, who was away on vacation in Chicago. Levin,it should be noted, maintained an office in the hospital. M.H. Poster, resident representative of Wershow & Weisz, stated that if Dr. Levin wishes to continue with his office there, it is available to him. If not, Poster stated: “Otherwise the doors will be locked and it will be boarded up.” When Levin returned, he kept is office and it was business as usual in the hospital, except it could only handle emergency care patients until the person could be transferred by ambulance to a neighboring hospital. On April 9, 1972, the community held a retirement party for Dr. Levin.
Westwood Rod & Gun Club building, September 30, 1928–H. Frodsham photograph
On March 13, 1922, the organizational meeting of the Westwood Rod & Gun Club was held. The principal players were George Peltier, Fletcher Walker, Ted Walker, Dr. F.J. Davis, Herb Smith, Rev. R.G. Green, R.H. Browne, Charlie Gardner and Bud Morrison, with Peltier serving as first president. Besides working on formalities of by-laws and such, the first objective was to build a clubhouse at Lake Almanor. At that time, Lake Almanor was only half the size that it is now. This, of course, influenced their decision as to the location. The site chosen was Bunnell’s point, close to the proximity presently known as the tip of the Lake Almanor peninsula. By April construction began on the two-story clubhouse. By September the club boated a membership of 57. In addition, to the clubhouse Dr. Davis, George Peltier and Fletcher Walker had small cabins built next to it. Tents were also provided to the members, along with duck blinds at the lake. The clubhouse which featured an outside dance floor, became a scene of merriment, as numerous social gatherings were held there.
In 1925, the club received word that Great Western Power had plans to heighten the dam at Lake Almanor, doubling its size. A discussion ensued among members about moving the clubhouse. It was finally agreed to move it near Big Springs, thus making is more accessible by being only six miles from Westwood. Of course, before they could do that, they would need permission from the Red River Lumber Company to locate there, since the property in question was company owned. This was not a problem, as Fletcher Walker was Red River’s General Manager of Westwood and active member in the organization and gave his blessing. Equally important, they could use the barge Red River leased from Great Western Power to float over the clubhouse and existing cabins.
By 1940, changes were on the horizon and the Westwood Rod & Gun Club days would be soon numbered. with the sale of the Red River to the Fruit Growers Supply Company. In1945, the club disbanded, and the clubhouse became the property of Red River. In 1947, Red River began subdividing its lakeshore property at Lake Almanor and one of the first pieces was at Big Springs. There 125 lots that were plotted. In May 1947, W.W. Davis of San Diego purchased the clubhouse. Davis remodeled the building into apartments. It was torn down in October 2010.
