he winter of 1923-24, was one of the driest on record in California. That summer another record would be broken–forest fires. It was June, 1924, when the Red River Lumber Company having been in operation for over a decade experienced its first major forest fire. The fire broke out at Chester Flats between Camps 34 and 38 and burned a narrow strip of land, eight miles in length. Red River’s loss was minimal as the fire burned recently logged over land and the only significant damage was 500 cords of wood burned along 1,000 feet of railroad track. Red River considered its biggest loss was to the men fighting the fire which cost the company a $1,000 a day in wages, and it took a week to contain the fire. Continue reading Westwood’s Fire Train→
When the decision was finally made by the Red River Lumber Company to locate a mill at Mountain Meadows, there was still the obstacle of a railroad. Actually, the selection process was a volatile one, which one can read in Red River: The Early Years. On January 29, 1912, Red River entered into a contract with the Southern Pacific Railroad to construct a 125 mile railroad from Fernley, Nevada to Mountain Meadows, to the town that would be named Westwood. As an incentive, Red River guaranteed the Southern Pacific that all their freight would be handled by this line for a period of five years. In addition, it was understood that once Red River was ready to expand north, the Southern Pacific would extend its line to Klamath Falls, Oregon. However, that is another story, though Red River gave serious consideration to build a second mill near Lookout. Continue reading Westwood’s First Train→
Red River operated numerous logging camps from 1913 through 1944 when it sold to Fruit Growers. The camps were assigned numbers, though in no particular order. The majority of the camps were short lived and only had a span of one to maybe three years. One of the more interesting camps was Camp 33, but referred to as Town Camp, as it was located less than a mile west of Westwood. What made it unique was that Red River’s company town of Westwood would experience from time to time a housing shortage for its employees.. On occasion, this camp was used to house mill workers instead of loggers.
El Solano, Westwood, circa 1916 – Courtesy of D.B. Martin
One of the peculiar oddities back in Westwood’s early history there were no accommodations for the traveling public. The Red River Lumber Company who controlled the town wanted it that way. This would hinder any “undesirables” to try infiltrate the town, i.e., such as union organizers. However, Red River needed to provide some sort of accommodations for people visiting on official business with the company. Red River constructed the El Solano at 501 Birch Street to meet those needs.
The El Solano, circa 1916. Courtesy of Leona Jackson.
In the 1930s, during Red River’s financial crisis, the company converted its American Legion Hall into a hotel known as the Blue Ox Inn, and thus the El Solano diminished in status. It would later be converted into apartments. In the fall of 1965 the Assembly of God Church renovated the building, and the second story removed. Today, it is a private residence.
A portion of the front page, and only known copy that was found in the T.B. Walker papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
On March 21, 1916, Westwood’s first newspaper The Pine Tree made its debut. It was a weekly paper that was distributed for free. Leon R. Stanley who was in charge of production, had a background with newspapers in Modoc County. Very little is known about the paper and when it ceased publication.
On August 17, 1917, The Westwood Independent succeeded The Pine Tree. This paper under the helm of G.B. Morrow, who also served as the justice of the peace remained in operation for three years. Stanley again was in the forefront when The Westwood Sugar Pine which eventually became known was Sugar Pine Press succeeded The Westwood Independent.
Company town’s such as Red River Lumber Company’s Westwood, in a rural setting had its challenges. To prevent labor turnovers, recreational outlets needed to be provided. However, this one amenity was not a cure all. In the 1920s, with affordable automobiles and improved highways laborers had an upper-hand in mobility. One of Red River’s earliest endeavors in its newly constructed town of Westwood, was aptly the named the Westwood Club. This institution included a restaurant, lunch counter, soda fountain, cigar and newsstand, a barbershop, reading room and a billiard room. While many enjoyed the Club, it did prevent Red River’s high turnover rate with employees, or with management. If there was a bright aspect, that due to high volume of high traffic in and out of Westwood assisted in the construction of Highway 36 between Red Bluff and Susanville. It would also be catalyst to establish Highway 32 to Chico. The Westwood Club was destroyed by fire on March 31, 1944, the cause was never determined.
The grave of Charles Gardner, Westwood Cemetery, 2013.
In August 2013, I conducted a Westwood Cemetery Tour. Since Westwood began as a company town of the Red River Lumber everyone worked together in a common goal.
With that in mind, in every operation, everyone plays an important role, as one cannot exist without the other. But before you can build a mill, first you need timber. That is where Charles Gardner, along with brother Irvine, better known as “Ippy.” The Gardner brothers, along with E.G. Scammon were part of the early California timber cruisers working under T.B. and Clinton Walker to not only examine timberlands, but also had the tedious jobs of going to a variety of county courthouses to examine land titles, so see who owned what parcel, values, taxes, etc. In a relatively short time frame of just over a decade Red River owned nearly 800,000 acres timberland in California making it the third largest landowner in California, only behind the railroads, who received their land for free from the government. Even after the Red River assembled its timberland, there was still plenty of work for the timber cruisers to do. Chief among them, was to plot out every year which sections of land that would be logged.
As it was in the past, timber is still part of Red River’s heritage, as certain heirs of T.B. Walker have retained their share of the timberland. It is now operating under Red River Forests, which is managed by Beaty & Associates.
One never knows for sure where your final resting place may be. In one instant, there was a disinternment of a grave of a girl who died in 1924 in Susanville. She was buried in the Susanville Cemetery and nearly 70 years later her family had the remains moved to a cemetery in Oroville.
Then there is the case of Amy Laughead. She was a first cousin to Red River Lumber Company’s founder, Thomas Barlow Walker. Her claim to fame, is that of her son, William B. Laughead, who developed the famous Paul Bunyan caricature that later became the trademark for Red River. Amy is a perfect example of you just never know where your final resting place might be. She died in February 1939 at Westwood and was buried in Sacramento. Seven months later, her son had her remains disinterred and brought to the Westwood Cemetery. When he died in 1958 he was buried in the plot in Sacramento where his mother was originally interred.
A winter logging crew, 1916. Courtesy of Hank Martinez
When T.B. Walker, founder of the Red River Lumber Company, made his westward expansion from Minnesota, it was the set the foundation for his five sons to operate it. Things happened and it did not quite had the desired results he had imagined. Family partnerships are fraught with their own set of obstacles, the Walker sons was a perfect example.
The earliest dispute was selection of the site of Westwood. T.B. attempted to be referee, but to no avail. There was a fallout when son Clinton objected, that he would he leave the company. Fletcher, another son, if site had chosen to be Westwood, Fletcher won out, he would became the resident manager of the Westwood.
It was Fletcher’s goal to operate Red River year round, much to the chagrin of his father. On February 25, 1915, T.B. wrote to Fletcher criticizing him for running the mill during winter storms, and that he should just shut it down. T.B. commented: “I have never expected that we could run all year in the mountains of California. I had in mind when I was securing the millsite where you built, that this would likely be about a nine or ten month’s milling job.”
A steam donkey being pulled through Westwood, 1916.
Fletcher questioned his father’s judgment on the ease of operating a winter mill in Minnesota, and remarked, “I never discovered that it was an easy operation to get through four months of cold and snow.”
The following year T.B. again requested Fletcher to shut down the logging operations in the winter as it was just plain too costly. Fletcher agreed the winter operations operated at a loss. However, his justification was that outfits such as McCloud River Lumber Company that called it “quits” in the sawmill operation on November first, placed Red River at an advantage by having a ready supply of lumber. In summation, Fletcher wrote, “In place of our figuring from this end on closing down, we have been figuring carefully the pros and cons of taking advantage of the bulging market to produce a bunch of timber of lumber this summer and make a real killing.”
Fletcher suspended winter logging during World War I. In 1920, Red River resumed winter logging briefly, only terminate it finally in 1924.
Since today is the Paul Bunyan Festival in Westwood, here is the origin of the town’s mascot.
During Red River Lumber Company’s expansion to California, they had number of hurdles to overcome. Since they would be using a different species of pine, than what they had previously used in Minnesota, they had to monumental task to educate their customers. Part of the duty fell to Archie Walker in Minneapolis, and he contacted his cousin, W.B. “Bill” Laughead, who was doing some free-lance advertising work to assist him. At this time, Paul Bunyan was a little known folklore, associated with loggers. The two came up with the idea of Paul Bunyan, and prior to this no one had rendered a drawing of the mythical logger. Continue reading Introducing Paul Bunyan→
