First of all, I want to thank those who took the time to respond about the Skedaddle Creek photograph. It will appear in next year’s calendar.
Believe it or not the sketch above would have been the replacement, if the consensus was not to include Skedaddle Creek. Why the sketch? My Mother gave me four different sketches years ago, hoping I would either frame them or use them in some way. If nothing else, this was a venue to fulfill her wishes. They are 8 x 10 in size if anyone wants them. First come, first served.
In August 1890, the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) extended its line northward from Onieda, near the Nevada state line for some fifty miles to Lower Hot Springs, later to be renamed Amedee. The region was stunned as the railroad abandoned its original survey on the west side of Honey Lake, to the east side nearly barren of inhabitants. That is a long story, for another time.
What was also stunning was the size of the depot built there. The two-story structure was 168 feet in length, making it one of the largest buildings in Lassen County. The second story provided lodging for railroad employees. The south side was offices and the remainder of the building was for freight storage.
N-C-O Depot at Amedee, circa 1906. Courtesy of Marie Herring Gould
In its early years, it was a busy place. A quarter mile away the NCO constructed stock years. To understand the activity, during a two week period in April 1891 nearly 30,000 head to sheep were at the corrals. After shearing the sheep, 160,000 pounds of wool was shipped, along with forty carloads of cattle.
In 1900, when the railroad extended its line north to the Madeline Plains, Amedee lost its status as a major shipping point. On July 1, 1909 the depot was destroyed by fire, origin unknown.
Doyle & Crowder Mill. Courtesy of Marie Herring Gould
The Long Valley Lumber Company was a perfect example how the lumber industry locally evolved. Instead of meeting local demands, which it did, the production was focused on outside markets.
The company established in 1906, was also known by its owners name Doyle & Crowder. They located their mill in a location known as Cannon Field, near the top of Doyle Grade. On a side note, local folklore had it that the name of Cannon Field was attributed to where John C. Fremont in his 1844 expedition discarded cannon balls, and would eventually at some unknown location abandon a howitzer. In all actuality, it was so named after William Cannon who lived there during the 1870s.
Anyhow, back to the topic at hand. The mill owed its existence to the Western Pacific Railway to supply ties for the construction of that railroad. Once the railroad no longer needed ties, the mill closed in 1910. In December 1917 the mill was sold to the Lassen Lumber & Box Company. That company moved the mill to Susanville, where it was used cut the lumber and timbers for a much larger mill there.
An interesting tidbit. At an Easter picnic in 1946 at the old millsite, Betty Richens found a 1906 $10 gold piece in the old sawdust pile.
In 1921, a group of Susanville businessmen wanted to form a local Elks Lodge. While they were an enthusiastic group, they had a formidable challenge. One of the requirements from Elks’ organization that a community must have a population greater than 5,000 inhabitants. While Susanville in the last several years witnessed tremendous growth, the City of Susanville’s boundaries did not include where the growth occurred. The confines of the city was rather small the area from Pine Street to the west to Weatherlow Street as the eastern border.
Not to be undaunted, these men formed an Antlers Club, a first step towards a subsequent Elks Lodge in the future. They were an ambitious lot. On February 23, 1922 they formed a stock company—the Antlers Investment Company. There goal was to raise $25,000 with each share at a par value $100. The next order of business to purchase a clubhouse for the future lodge. They set their sights on the Swain residence at the west end of Main Street that overlooks that boulevard. In 1922, they reached an agreement with Annie Swain, the owner, to purchase it. She sold it to Antlers Investment Company for $13,000. However, she retained a parcel adjoining to the south in which she would build a new home.
With everything in place, it would still be a few years before a local Elks Lodge would become a reality.
The dairy of Fruit Growers/Lassen Dairy ranch as it appeared in 1922,. Today the property is known as Susanville Ranch Park.
There are two distinct eras of the dairy industry. The first is more or less prior to the lumber mills entering the region. A great many Honey Lake farmers manufactured large quantities of butter, in which Virginia City was a lucrative market. Willow Creek Valley resident, A.L. Tunison, in his diaries of the 1870s provides a glimpse, as he also made his own wooden butter kegs to transport the butter.
With the arrival of the large lumber mills, swelled the local population, thus providing a ready local market. There was a proliferation of dairies. Unfortunately, very little has been done to document them, though material exists. In my archives are the regular Milk Producers Reports.
Today, I will attempt to highlight one particular dairy—Lassen. When Fruit Growers came to Susanville they purchased the John T. Long north Susanville. The main reason for this was the water rights to Bagwell Springs located on that property. Long story short, they did not need it. From their Hilt operations, they brought Frank O’Kelly to operate a dairy for their Susanville Operation. Within two years, they leased the whole affair to O’Kelly who formed Lassen Dairy. The O’Kelly’s operated it for decades, when it finally morphed into Morning Glory Dairy. It has only been in the last couple of years that the O’Kelly family sold Morning Glory.
One final note, I have an extensive collection of local milk bottles. One of my Mother’s favorite pastimes was going to yard sales, where she did quite well.
Eagle Lake Summit, 1923. Courtesy of Dick & Helen Harrison
It may sound quaint in this day and age, but when mountain road summit opened in the spring time it was big news. After all snow plows for road maintenance were non-existent. Regions like this were shut off from the rest of the world.
On Sunday, May 21, 1916 Lassen County Supervisor, L.R. Cady reported he had made the trek over the Eagle Lake Summit. Cady reported there were no serious difficulty encountered. This, of course, was good news for “Burt” Christie, owner and operator of the Eagle Lake Resort on the southwest corner of Eagle Lake. During the winter months, Christie would take his boat and go up to the northeast corner of the lake, and dock at the Fritter Ranch, where he kept his automobile. Christie would then make the journey to Susanville to obtain necessary supplies and take care of business affairs and return back in the same manner.
This may seem a bit premature since it deals with the 2022 Calendar. It is rapidly nearing completion, so it will be one less project out of the way, so I can get out and explore places with summer approaching.
This particular photograph is giving me some trouble, so I am seeking opinions. It was taken in 1922, and quite unique. When I enlarge it to size needed for calendar, it looses some clarity, if you look at it up close. However, when one looks at it from a distance, like one would with a wall calendar, it looks just fine.
On the trail to Cinder Cone, 1911—B.R. Zimmerman Collection
On May 13, 1926, Tom Massey, Joe Odette and John Solari invited Charles Adams on a fishing trip to Butte and Snag Lakes in the eastern segment of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Adams had no idea what kind of expedition this would be. After hiking around Butte Lake, then onto Snag Lake, something had to be done to look elsewhere since the fish did not seem to exist in these two lakes. It was decided to climb Cinder Cone in search of the wary trout. Needless to say it was a dry run, and Adams sighed that he would have been better off staying in Susanville.
Cinder Cone, 1911. Courtesy of B.R. Zimmerman Collection
In 1887, the movement for a pubic park for Susanville made its debut. While a mere hamlet of less than 200 souls, made this quite remarkable. It would not be an easy undertaking, as it would take sixty years to make it a reality. At that time, the residents offered to purchase an 80 acre tract for a park and fairgrounds for $5,000. It was their intent to turn it over to the County. They approached the Board of Supervisors to form a park district and assess a taxy levy for maintenance. The Board rejected the proposal.
In the spring of 1928 the local Rotary Club got on the park bandwagon. They set their site on the Folsom Tract behind the recently built American Legion Memorial Hall. While their intent was admirable, they just could not get the needed traction to move forward. It would not be until after World War II before a municipal park would become a reality. Again, the focus was on the Folsom Tract, now owned by Cyril & Eleanor Houghton. The asking price $7,000. In November 1946 a Park Planning Board had been created. By February 1, 1947 they had raised the money and on March 12, 1947, the property was now owned by the City.
However, there was still another hurdle. The City did not have the funds to make the improvements. The community stepped up to the challenge to purchase trees, shrubbery, a children’s wading pool and of course to construct a grandstand to watch baseball games.
On July 3, 1949 dedication ceremonies were held for Susanville’s Memorial Park. As Judge Ben Curler, Lassen County Superior Court, as opening speaker, simply stated that is was a “truly community park” for the efforts made by the volunteers.
The Scottini’s arrastra mill, 1899. Courtesy of Mary Dale Folsom
First of all, if you go to the front page of the web site, in the upper right hand corner is the search feature, which you can find all kinds of things to keep you preoccupied.
As to mining along Gold Run I have addressed this some extent. Such as Scottini’s Arrastra Millwhich was located just above the Satica Ranch. Then there is the story of the Wild Horse Mines in the Smoke Creek Desert. In 1910, the stamp mill from the Lone Pine Mine located along Gold Run, near present Amesbury Drive was moved to those mines.
Wild Horse Canyon, September 27, 1984
Now to the mining activity on Goodrich Mountain. That one is little trickier. Anything involving Red River or Walker in searches is the ultimate nightmare. Mining claims are recorded by either name of the claimant or the name of the mine. Besides the copper belt that starts near Mountain Meadows, the other mineral located in the area, was iron ore. That is the best that I can do for now, especially the mining claims are in storage due to the Lassen County Courthouse Renovation Project.
