History

Tramp Sheepmen

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A band of sheep near Pittville, circa 1920

Not surprising, by the early 1900s changes were taking place on livestock grazing on public lands. With the establishment of Forest Reserves later to become National Forests would require grazing permits. This forced itinerant sheep men, many who were Basque, towards the Great Basin were they were able graze freely.

These herders became known as “tramp sheepmen.” These individuals would take their band of sheep and move them to place to place in search of feed and water. This practice would soon come to end. First, is was financial, in the 1920s when wool prices plummeted. In 1934, with the implementation of the Taylor Grazing Act, required grazing permits on all public lands and the itinerant sheepman was no more.

On a final note, is that of Adam Laxalt, who is in the news, of late, as a candidate  forU.S.  Senator in Nevada. His great grandfather, Dominique Laxalt was a true tramp sheepman of the Madeline Plains. As mentioned with the economic, political, as well as a drought, things did not work out well on the Madeline Plains for Dominique by the late 1920s who moved his family to Carson City, and started a new chapter in his life.

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History

The Controversial Fire Truck Ban

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North Lassen Street, Susanville, showing City Fire & Hall, circa 1930

In 1922, saw the City of Susanville’s reorganized fire department, complete with a new fire engine. Initially, they would respond to fires outside the city limits. That changed on November 30, 1926 and the City prohibited the fire department from leaving the city  limits. There were a few exceptions. The City would provide fire suppression for the lumber mills, the county hospital and the two public schools in the unincorporated areas. The reason for aiding the  mills was not that they were the largest employers, but they had their own fire departments. Those mills could reciprocate with fire assistance inside the City if needed.

The reason for the City’s abrupt decisions not to provide fire assistance outside its boundaries came from fire underwriters, who informed the City that they would have to raise fire premium rates for the City if they continued to provide aid outside the City limits. It was their contention that the City did not have sufficient equipment to protect the property outside the City, and a fire then occurred inside the City; there would be no means to fight it. The City informed its neighbors in unincorporated areas that once they equipped themselves, the City would provide mutual aid.

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History

Lassen County Courthouse, 1921

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Lassen County Courthouse, 1921

While the Lassen County Courthouse slogs away with its interior restoration/renovation process, this unique photograph was taken by Jervie Eastman in June 1921. It shows how the exterior has been dramatically altered. On a side note, Eastman was visiting Susanville and briefly opened shop when he had taken numerous views of Susanville. He was fined by the City of Susanville for not having a peddlers license. More about Eastman at another time.

The courthouse was designed by noted architect George Sellon. During his career he would design eleven California county courthouses. For Lassen he had a grand Colonnaded Portico entrance—that has been altered. The surface area, including steps were covered with red tile. Some time in the between 1952 and 1957 the north and south entrances were removed.

Tim

History

A Susan River Tragedy

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Susan River, circa 1914

Dr. Zetus N. Spalding (1819-1898) was a Civil War physician and was best known to generations of Lassen County residents of being the founder of the iconic Spalding Drug Store, that institution had spanned a little over 100 years. He served as Lassen County Superintendent of Schools from 1871 to 1879. In the late 1860s, he was elected twice as County Coroner. For many years, he also held a non-elected position as County Physician, who provided aid to the indigent and incarcerated.

His favorite pastime was that of fishing the Susan River. One Tuesday morning in May 1898, he went fishing as usual, left in the morning and but this time failed to return home in the afternoon.  By evening, a group of some thirty men assembled and went in search of him along the banks of the Susan River where they found his body near the old Bremner dam about a quarter mile upstream from Hobo Camp.

His, John B. Spalding took over Spalding Drug. He was an avid outdoorsman. Many may not be aware, but the store up until World War II carried a full line of fishing poles, tackle, along guns and ammunition.

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History

Standish Ground Breaking Ceremony

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The Standish townsite prior to clearing the sagerbrush, January 1898

A lot of planning went into Standish Colony, and the selection of the townsite was no exception.  Some of the initial work in late 1897, early 1898 was conducted by H.R.T. Coffin and Tom Barham. They had a vague idea where it might be located. Their task was to poll the area residents about a prohibition clause that would be included in the deeds. It was simple that no intoxicating liquors be manufactured or sold, and if a person violated the clause the property would revert back to the Associated Colonies.

It was Albert Halen, the civil engineer for the colony to make the final decision for the location. He selected a 240-acre site, where the Susanville-Datura stage line dissected through the middle of the townsite—known today as U.S. Highway 395 North. On February 5,1898 various members of the Standish Colony gathered at the future townsite. William E. Smythe, one of the founders of the Associated Colonies did the ceremonial cutting the sagebrush there.

In June 1898, the Associated Colonies published a small booklet “The Standish Colony in the Highlands of California. It contained this description:  “The village site of Standish is located on high ground and enjoys fine, natural drainage. The sagebrush has been cleared and the streets and parks laid out in accordance with the beautiful Plymouth plan. The Colony homes will command views of splendid mountain pictures in all directions—to the east, beyond the blue sheen of Honey Lake, the towering Hot Springs Mountains,; to the north, brown heights of Shafer’s Peak and the picturesque defile which Willow Creek flows down to the valley and lake; to the south, Diamond Mountain and its sisters clothed in dark forests crowned with snow; to the west, the higher Sierras with that great Sentinel of the north—Lassen Butte—holding eternal vigil over the Sacramento Valley, on one side, and Honey Lake Valley, on the other.”

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Lassen High’s First Principal Unexpected Departure

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While sifting through my Lassen County Schools file, I came across something that caught my attention. It was a telegraph envelope addressed to J.B. Spalding, a Lassen County High School Trustee. Someone wrote on the envelope “Please Preserve.” The above illustration was the content of the telegram from Lassen County Superintendent of Schools, J.F. Dixon.

It should be noted that Professor Frank C. Schofield was hired as the first Principal/Instructor for the Lassen County High School in the fall of 1903. A second instructor, George Barton assisted. In an 1906 account spoke highly of Schofield: “Under his efficient management rapid progress has been made in all departments, and the attendance has largely increased, the number of pupils registered the first year having been but forty, which in the second year sixty names appeared on the roll.” Among other items, Schofield oversaw the construction of the high school.

W.H. Weeks rendering of the new high school.

In June 1910, Professor Schofield surprised the community that he was leaving for Palo Alto, California to take year sabbatical from teaching. Was the above undated telegram the impetus?  We may never know. Schofield never returned to Lassen and spent the rest of his educational career in Palo Alto where he died in 1935.

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History

A Former Lake Almanor Hazard

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Lake Almanor, 1930

Seasoned residents and visitors to Lake Almanor will recall that body of water was plagued with snags—dead standing trees submerged by the lake. The trees were mostly lodgepole pine that had no commercial value to the Red River Lumber Company when it initially logged the basin. Another issue, especially along the shoreline was  the remnants of tree stumps left over from harvesting trees.

In 1954 the California Department of Fish & Game estimated it would cost $1.6 million to remove the snags and stumps. California Assemblywoman Pauline Davis, who liked the idea of the snag removal, would not seek state funds to do it, as the lake was privately owned.

As the development of the subdivisions on the peninsula and east shore continued so did the issue of snag removal. In the fall of 1959, PG&E did a pilot test to remove the snags and stumps. After it was completed, it would assess the results, and should it appear feasible from a cost standpoint, it would move forward with the program to include additional segments of the lake.

To the delight of many, PG&E continued with the snag removal program, and in 1961 work was accelerated. Cattermole and Tretheway Construction Company were awarded the contract for removal snags, stumps and driftwood. At its peak the company had five barges, employing over fifty men. One of the more problematic regions of the lake was the one known as Gould Swamp to the east of Chester. A huge pile of snags was created on the Chester boat landing road. Farrell Hamilton, foreman for the company, reported that the pile consisted of nearly six million board feet of timber. It measured some 1,100 feet long, by 60 feet wide and 20 feet high. To dispose of this mammoth wodpile, the company intended to have one large bonfire and it did in late October 1963. As one forest service employee noted, it “really made quite a blaze.”

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History

Stacy Depot, Lassen County

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Stacy Depot—C.R. Caudle

Stacy was a small community in the eastern Honey Lake Valley located between Amedee and the Nevada Stateline. It came into existence when the Fernley & Lassen Railroad was constructed through there in 1912. There were high hopes in the region with the completion of the Standish Water Company’s pumping plant on Honey Lake. It was the company’s intent to irrigate some 4,000 acres for sugar beet production. Its a complicated story.

Stacy Depot
Stacy Depot. The town was named for Stacy Yoakum Spoon, wife of Grover Franklin Spoon, one of the town’s developers and its first postmaster.

This is another depot, where I have not been able to locate much information. There was a nearby stock corral for loading sheep. In 1940, there was siding that could handle 113 cars.

Tim

History

The Demise of the Paul Bunyan Lumber Company

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Paul Bunyan Lumber Company, 1953. Courtesy of Fred Lendman

On May 15, 1967, Kenneth R. Walker, president of the Paul Bunyan Lumber Company announced the pending closure of its Susanville mill. Walker cited the lack of available of timber for the closure. The mill closed in August and the liquidation process began.

In 1945, when Red River Lumber Company was in its initial dissolution process, Kenneth wanted to remain in the business. At that time, Red River owned what was referred to as the “Cedar Mill” in Susanville. Kenneth took over that mill and named his new venture the Paul Bunyan Lumber Company.

In conclusion, Walker provided two interesting facts about the mill. He stated that when the last board is shipped, the mill would have processed 650 million board feet of lumber during its operations. In addition, the company’s total payroll during that time amounted to $20 million.

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History

Milford School, Lassen County

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The 1865 school petition, saved from my dumpster diving expertise.

In 1864, during the creation of Lassen County there were six original school districts, Milford would become seventh the following year. On February 28, 1865, Milford residents petitioned the Lassen County Board of Supervisors for a school district of their own. After all, the Lake School, was some twelve miles to the north and the Long Valley School nearly twenty miles to the south. The board obliged.

The second Milford School—-Milford Community Association

One of the unique traits of Milford, is that its original and replacement school houses still stand—though since converted in private residences, and they are side by side. The first schoolhouse was built in the summer of 1865 by Ezra P. Soule and Henry C. Stockton for $500. As Milford continued to grow, so did its student population. In 1883, the voters there dealt with a contentious issue to pass a special tax for $160 to construct an addition—it narrowly passed. The school population just kept growing and the original school, even with an addition was not enough. Back to the polls. On May 12, 1888, the school district voters approved  $1,400 bond measure for a new school house, that served the community for nearly eight decades.

Milford School, 1957. Courtesy of Milford Community Association

While the Milford School experienced many ups and downs, like any institution, times were changing. Long gone were the horse and buggy days, replaced  with paved highways and automobiles that resulted in the population decline of rural communities and Milford was of no exception. In 1965, the upper grade students at Milford were transferred to Herlong Elementary. The following year, the school struggled and only taught grades one through three. The following year it closed and was annexed to Janesville Elementary School District.

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Exploring Lassen County's Past