By the 1880s, the village of Susanville desired a public park. Then a township, its governing body was the Lassen County Board of Supervisors. That board balked at the idea.
In 1900, the City of Susanville became its own separate entity, but a city park was low priority. In the spring of 1928, the Rotary Club got on the park bandwagon. It set its sights on the Folsom property behind the American Legion Hall on North Street. M.O. Folsom offered the property at $6,000, with $750 down and $750 per year at six percent interest. The Rotary Club enlisted the aid of J.W. Gregg, a landscape architect with the University of California and paid for his expenses to visit Susanville. Gregg volunteered his time to design plans for a park on the Folsom property. The plans and his offer were then presented to the City. The City, while impressed, took the matter under consideration.
The Rotary Club continued with its efforts. In 1929, it put together a 10-year strategy plan for a park, and sought support from other civic organizations. At a park meeting on September 23, 1929, Frank Cady offered to donate $4,500 to purchase the Folsom property for a park. Folsom reduced his askig price to $3,500 as long as it was used as a park.Another $1,000 was needed to purchase an adjacent parcel from Med Arnold.
The wheels were set in motion. The Rotary Club approached the City Council which was agreeable to accepting the donation of the property should Cady purchase it for theCity. The Council agreed to move forward to implement Gregg’s plans. There was one slight problem—the property was located outside the city limits. The Council stated it would be necessary to form a park district. That would allow an venue for assessment fees for construction and maintenance.
The park district issue was presented to the Lassen County Board of Supervisors, as the proposed district fell under their jurisdiction and the Board agreed. The procedure called for a public hearing and setting of an election date. On December 2, the public hearing was held. The adjacent property owners were against it. The Board decided against the district. It was the Board’s opinion that Susanville residents would receive more benefits from the park, but the county would have the greatest burden of costs. The County vetoed the park district, and city decided to place the matter on hold.
P.S. – In the1920s, Folsom allowed this property to be flooded for ice skating.