Some  may find this of interest. This memo from Fletcher Walker, the resident manager of Westwood, the company town of Red River Lumber Company. It was dated May 4, 1916:  “The point that is the most disagreeable about the plant is lack of houses to take care of families of the men who are working for us. The  woman folks not being able to see that a large family in a tent or in a one room woodshed are not considered sufficient to put them up a house where they can have sufficient accommodations to be comfortable. It costs us about $500.00 counting lumber and labor to put up a four room house and ceiled in the inside. The same building without plumbing and ceiling costs about $200.00 less. To put the town in a reasonably comfortable condition would require 50 more houses and get families out of tents would require another 50, but every dozen houses that we build and get occupied gives us that many more of the most urgent cases and relieves the situation very materially, so as soon as we could see our way clear as to do so, we should start building more houses. On an income basis we should consider several factors, rent paid by the tenant, store, laundry, bakery, etc increased revenue and to have our men housed, for without any question a man spending his evenings and nights under cramped and unsatisfactory living conditions is not in as good condition to do  a day’s work as one who is contented, also that the man with families are steadier workers, more loyal and accomplish more than the single men and far less liability of any labor troubles we have.”

Tim

Lassen National Forest Service Supervisor, A. G. Brenneis, penned several different articles about the region.  He wrote whether earthquakes could have effect on lake levels  Today, we focus on an article he wrote about the origin of  Hogs Flat and why it was so named that was published in the California Ranger, August 1938: “Many years ago the residents of Honey Lake Valley joined together to start the Susan River Irrigation District and, as a first step, began the construction of the dams at the present sites of Hog Flat and McCoy Flat Reservoirs. The first winter this country received heavy storms and as a result the dam at Hog Flat was destroyed. The entire meadow, which should have been a lake was covered with a rank growth of vegetation and in order to salvage something from the reservoir, the farmers of the district banded together, placed a huge herd of hogs on the meadow, fattened them, and made some money to repay them for the loss of the dam. Ever since then the reservoir has carried its name of Hog Flat.”

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Lassen County has over 1,000 topographical features whether it be a spring, flat or mountain. Most of these features are unknown by the public at large. Researching those places presented a challenge such as today’s featured topic Jesus Spring. Since this spring is located on the west side of Fort Sage Mountains.  I turned to my trusty source Phil Hall who was born at Constantia in 1909 and was a Long Valley resident until 1974. According to Phil, this spring  was named for a Spaniard who lived at Dry Valley. He built a hand hewn pine water trough at the spring. For many years the spring was referred to as “Kasuth” or “Casuth” spring. When the Taylor Grazing Act in 1937 (now known as the Bureau of Land Management)  was established, the local officials of that agency thought the name must be Jesus in Spanish and so they named it Jesus Spring.

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There were a lot variables, some stage routes had a short life span. For example, there were several different routes to Surprise Valley from the Susanvile. Time would be a factor when one route was feasible over another.

Time could also be a factor how a stage stop evolved or just went by the wayside. Case in the point was the Antelope Station, located Long Valley across the county line in Sierra.  It was established in the mid-1860s by Jonathon  C. Roberts. In 1873, Roberts sold to David F. Evans and for many years it was known as the Evans Ranch. In 1882, when the Nevada-California-Oregon (NCO) constructed its railroad there, they established a station named Oneida, for the Sierra County Township of Oneida. On June 6, 1889, a post office was established there named Purdy—for Solomon Purdy who came to Sierra County in 1852, from Oneida, New York and eventually sold to David F. Evans. In 1891, the Purdy Post Office was moved to a site known today as Bordertown. Travelers of U.S. Highway 395 between 1931 and 1976 will know the location of the old Antelope Station as the first site of the California Agricultural Inspection “Bug” Station.

Tim

In the late spring of 1916, two men, Clarence Williams and Dan McClane set off on horseback on a prospecting trip. It does not appear on the face that remarkable, until you examine the ages of two men–Williams, 36 and McClane 101. That is correct a hundred year old man prospecting on horseback. The duo left the Williams Ranch in Willow Creek Valley, now owned by Five Dot and first ventured to look at the abandoned mines of adjacent Round Valley. From there they went all the way to the top of Green’s Peak looking for the fabled “Grabel’s hole.” The Grabel was a rich lode, that falls into the category of the lost mine tales.  They then ventured down to Rongstock Canyon, back up and over to Papoose Meadows and numerous crooks and crannies along the way. Then back over Gallatin Peak and back to Willow Creek Valley. In all, Williams estimated they traveled nearly forty miles that day. McClane it should be noted came to Lassen County in 1872, where he mined there for over forty years.

McClane’s advice for longevity, “Don’t worry about anything, don’t think about getting old, eat plenty of food, but not too much, take regular sleep four times a week and work like the devil at all times.” McClane died at the age of 105 in 1920.

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When the Lucerne School District was established in 1916, it was a turning point of the future of small rural school districts in Lassen County. The homestead era was in its waning stage, coupled with good roads and the automobile were principal reasons of shift in education. This was a small district, territory wise, sandwiched in between Long Valley to the south and Bird Flat to the north.It should be noted that a school house was built three miles north of Doyle. In 1925, the school was closed due to lack of students.  At that time the Board of Supervisors authorized the sale of the building—asking price $50. But no buyers came forward. The school house was destroyed in a August 1926 forest fire that also destroyed the ranches of Arent, Downing and Wagner.

Tim