The other day while looking at real estate listing with Lands of America I came across some interesting properties available in Lassen County. One of which is the old Westwood Hospital. There have been a lot of proposals over the years, but nothing has ever materialized. The asking price is $175,000. Anyhow, I thought some might enjoy the agent’s property description.
“Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of history! The Historic Westwood Hospital was built in 1914 by the same Red River Logging Company that brought us the stories of Paul Bunyan and Babe the big blue ox. The Hospital features multiple wings of patient rooms, an elevator, a giant kitchen, multiple waiting rooms, large fireplace, a spacious third story apartment, and so many other fascinating features just waiting to be discovered. The hospital operated clear through the 1970s, and is a treasure trove of rich American and logging history. With possible funding available for the restoration of this once glorious building there is so much potential for just about anything you can imagine here. This incredible diamond in the ruff is located in the small town of Westwood California.”
Via CA-44 E to LassenContinue to Old StationContinue on CA-44 E to Lassen County48Turn right onto CA-36 W/Volcanic Legacy Scenic BywayContinue on Delwood St. Drive to Elm St.
The Westwood Auto Club was the oddest creation of the Red River Lumber Company’s operation at Westwood. Since Westwood was created as a company town one would expect that the community as a whole functioned a bit differently. On the other hand, Red River wanted Westwood to assimilate like the surrounding communities. Enter the Westwood Auto Club. It served as Red River’s de facto chamber of commerce. The Auto Club served as a booster organization of Red River products and civic pride as well.
On February 14, 1916 the auto club held its organizational meeting. Its first goal was to open the road over Fredonyer to Susanville, after all this was prior to the state highway system. On Sunday, April 9, 1916, the Auto Club organized a work party of one
hundred twenty-five to open Fredonyer, with Red River providing
equipment. A much smaller delegation from Susanville was recruited to work on the snow removal from their side of the mountain. The Susanville team was the first to reach the summit, for they had the added benefit that its side receives more sun exposure. Being of goodwill, the Susanville crowd began snow removal on the Westwood down slope. Once the two groups connected, everyone regrouped to the summit to celebrate their achievement. This became an annual event for the next several years.
Within a few short years the Westwood Auto Club saw its membership swell to nearly five hundred. Due to its size, the club felt they needed a place of their own. Upon due diligent search they found an empty building at 303 Ash Street, which had formerly housed kindergarten classes. On New Years Day 1921, after a complete remodel the club opened its doors to the membership.
The Auto Club was on a roll, and in the spring of 1921, it obtained a
lease from Red River to develop a park and campground at nearby Clear Creek. This was a popular picnic site, and the club maintained the park until the organization folded when Red River sold in 1944.
By the mid-1920s the organization had over 1200 members. Its biggest accomplishment came in 1929-30. The Auto Club lobbied hard with the California Division of Highways for the winter snow removal over Fredonyer.
By 1914, Red River Lumber Company’s new company town was open for business. For years there had be lots of speculation while it kept buying vast amounts of timberland in Northern California. The press was eager to pay a visit and write about it. The Chico Record in August 1914 published an interesting article which was titled: “Is Westwood An Experiment? Away up in Lassen County, about twenty miles from Susanville, is the new town of Westwood, a city created within a year. It lies in the center of one of the largest and most valuable tracts of timberland in the United States, a tract of timber which until this year had never been touched by the ax or saw. Westwood is owned solely and exclusively by the Red River Lumber Company, which is but another name for Walker, the multi-millionaire of Minnesota, and his sons.
“Walker came into California a few years ago, and began to buy and
otherwise acquire timberlands in Shasta, Lassen, Butte and Plumas
counties, until it is said that he now owns one million acres of the
finest forests in the world. “With the building of the Southern Pacific railroad from Fernley into Lassen County came the opportunity to work these timber holdings and the Walkers grasped the opportunity. Alongside of a creek in the center of these holdings they established the town of Westwood, and are now completing their mills and factories. The mill is said to have the greatest capacity of any in the West, it being possible to cut one million feet of lumber a day, and at this rate it can be run for more than fifty years without exhausting the timber supply.
“Consequently Westwood is being built to endure. Water has been piped into the place from a point distant ten miles. A complete sewer system is being laid, streets and sidewalks built, streets well lighted, and several hundred residences built.
“Everything in Westwood is owned and controlled by the Walkers. No lots are sold and one cannot be bought. All the houses are rented to the employees, and the Walkers conduct a general merchandise store the equal of which is not found north of San Francisco. It contains everything for human needs from automobiles to a loaf of bread. An immense clubhouse is maintained, for Westwood has no saloons. A large moving picture theater is also conducted by Walkers, which on Sunday night is used as a church. If there is any profit to be made in Westwood, it is made by the Walkers, for no one else can do business there. It is stated, however, by most of the residents that prices are no higher then in other places, and in most instances they are lower.
“It will be interesting to note whether this ‘one-man’ town can be
made a success. It already contains about three thousand people for the Walker’s have on their payrolls about fifteen hundred employees. No one is asked to come to Westwood; there is no chamber of commerce seeking immigration. There are no properties for sale, hence no real estate agents. There is not even a newspaper.
“Doubtless in time there will arise dissatisfaction, for we are so
used to the competitive system in human affairs, that the average one is likely to resent the obligation to work for a man or company and in turn be compelled to live as the man or company directs and turn back most of his wages into channels that will carry them back to their source, even though in doing so a fair share is retained by the wage-earner.”
Since 1907, Fruit Growers Supply Company has had a presence in Northern California. It first began at Hilt in Siskiyou County. In 1919, it expanded to Susanville. In 1944, another expansion of the purchase of Westwood and equally important the Burney Tract in Shasta County. After the closure of Hilt in 1972, Fruit Growers was no longer operating any sawmills, the company owned some 400,000 acres of timberland in Northern California. In 2019, Fruit Growers began to liquidate, the first to go was the Burney Tract which was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries.
The water carnival at the Sunkist Lodge, Eagle Lake, 1921. Courtesy of Ed Standard
The next to go was the Lassen Tract. In 2020, it was also sold Sierra Pacific Industries.
Fruit Growers Mill at Hilt, 1919
Hilt, was of course, Fruit Growers first acquisition and it would be the last sold, which occurred in 2021. It was purchased by a firm known as New Forest based out of Sydney, Australia. Fruit Growers has focused on purchasing timberland in Oregon and Washington.
With the initial construction of Westwood in 1913, Fletcher Walker, Red River Lumber Company’s Resident Manager referred to the new community as the “City of Trees”. At that time, an order was issued not cut down any trees than necessary, just enough to clear building sites and streets. As one visitor to Westwood in 1913 noted, “The cottages are being built right among the pine trees, and the only clearance is where the trees have been cut to make way for the streets. The trees are so close together that one can only see a few houses at a time. Hence it is a city among the pines.”
No one was aware that the lofty pines would present a hazard until January 25,1914. The stormy weather began shortly after midnight and from all appearances was no different than any other storm the residents had endured. This all changed shortly before eleven o’clock in the morning. A ferocious windstorm struck the community. The gale force winds, while only lasting about five
minutes, wreaked havoc on Westwood and rattled the nerves of its
inhabitants. Over one hundred lofty pine trees snapped like kindling. One tree crashed on the roof of the cookhouse whose occupants were preparing the noon meal. A ten-room cottage under construction fell victim as well when a tree crashed into it, the force so great it tossed one of the carpenters into a snow bank. Several other cottages were destroyed, but luckily there were no other injuries. At two o’clock in the afternoon the residents gathered en mass at the Opera House to discuss what happened. A committee of three was selected to confer with Red River management to request all standing trees be removed immediately, as they felt threatened by them. So serious was their plea, should the company take no action many would quit and move elsewhere. Red River obliged and next morning removed a number of trees that they deemed posed a hazard.
On December 24, 1914 was a major event in Westwood when the town’s Big Store opened for business. The Plumas National provided the following description of the event. :“A complete butcher shop, a drug store, grocery department, men’s furnishings, women’s goods, hardware and shoe departments are all under special heads, each of whom is a specialist in his line. Nineteen men are employed in the store at the present time.”
The soda fountain in the Big Store.
In February 1916, the Big Store got even bigger with another forty-foot addition. The facility could boast 73,125 square feet of retail space, with an additional 8,800 square feet utilized for offices and other purposes. It was the largest department store north of Sacramento.
The road has been plowed, but what do you do if there is an oncoming vehicle?
The caption states taken “near Westwood,” but when it was taken remains unknown. When winter snows arrived on the east slope of the Sierra, travel across the mountains came to an abrupt halt. It was that natural barrier why east slope residents since the 1850s sought for their own self governance.
What is intriguing about this photograph is the road is plowed. In the late 1910s when Westwood was established, there was a competition with that community and those in Susanville to see who would be first to cross over Fredonyer in the spring. In addition, no doubt with a ting of spring fever, the two communities led a joint effort to clear each other’s side of the mountain of the snow.
When Highway 36 was completed between Susanville and Red Bluff in the late 1920s, when winter arrived the California Highway Department closed the highway. After intense lobbying, in 1929 the state agreed to plow the road for snow removal, thought initially it was sporadic.
In late November 1940, Susanville painter James Daugherty landed a very big job. Maybe the largest paint job ever in Lassen County. Red River Lumber Company hired him to spruce up downtown Westwood with paint. Company towns were drab affairs and Westwood was no exception. After all in the company’s mind, paint cost money.
Daugherty had the task to the paint the main office building, pearl white; Physicians building ivory and green; fire hall, brown and gray; cafeteria, tea green and the post office as well as the Big Store, buff.
While some Red River officials wanted to paint the residential houses, the majority did not.
Heartfailure Grade, Eagle Lake, 1921. Courtesy of Lola L. Tanner
By 1920, Westwood residents made up a large segment of visitors to the south shore of Eagle Lake during the summer season. What they desired was the ability to drive to the north shore of the lake. There was a crude wagon road, between the south shore and Spaulding Tract, but it was not in any condition for automobile use.
Enter the Westwood Auto Club. This was an unusual organization created by the Red River Lumber Company. In many ways it served as a de-facto chamber of commerce. The auto club were true to their name in road development and played an important role during the construction of Highway 36.
Eagle Lake trail to Gallatin Beach, 1914. Courtesy of Dolores Gasperoni
In the summer of 1921, the Westwood Auto Club led a group of Lassen County and Red River Lumber Company officials on a reconnaissance survey for a road to connect the north and south shores of Eagle Lake. All agreed that the obstacles could be easily overcome, with the only major outlay for a bridge to cross Pine Creek. On the other hand the over all cost would be minimal and Red River would assist with its equipment to make it possible. They all stressed the benefit of people to have access to various features along the lake, and shortly after this outing, work was slowly undertaken. In the 1940s, the road between the south shore and Spaldings was greatly improved when the Paul Bunyan Lumber Company was logging the west side of Eagle Lake.
In 1914, Red River Lumber Company opened a private high school, that even included night courses for the benefit of the employees. In the fall of 1916, the high school was converted into a public one with an enrollment of forty students. Initially, the grammar and high school shared the same building, but with increasing enrollments it was determined the high school have a building of its own. In the fall of 1918, a new two-story high school was built adjacent to the grammar school. Dedication of the new high school did not occur until March 8, 1919. Red River paid for the construction of the high school, which normally residents of the school district would have passed a bond measure to do so. However, the State of California paid the teacher’s salaries.
