This was a most unusual post card that I came across. While it is linen type manufactured card typical of the 1930s and 1940s, the company that produced it, had no clue of the location. While it may be labeled Susanville, the photograph was not taken there. The background is clear indicator that it was taken elsewhere.

Tim 

California Highway Route 139 from Susanville to the Oregon Border has the distinction of being one of the top five loneliest (least travelled) roads in the United States.  The 143 mile route between Susanville to Malin, Oregon was a long slow process to construct. It started as Lassen-Modoc Joint Highway #14 when it was created in 1929. It was not finished until 1956 and in 1959 it was designated 139.

Tim

Dating old photographs can be tricky and the above postcard is rather unique. On the reverse it does have a 1919 postmark, which means nothing. This photograph was taken in the spring of 1915. The Knoch Building on left did not add a third story to that structure until the fall of 1914. The Emerson Hotel to left was destroyed by fire in August 1915. Finally, there is a banner across Main Street. It was placed there in the first week of April 1915 promoting Lassen County Day at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.

Tim