Prior to 1892, there was a lack of financial institutions in Lassen County, namely a bank. This presented challenges as to what to do with one’s money. In the mid-1860s, William Brockman (1836-1923) operated a blacksmith shop in Susanville. One may not think of it as a cash cow business, but it was. The blacksmith shop then, was like a full service gas station day, one that does vehicle repairs. There was tremendous traffic through the town, it being the shortest route to the Idaho mines. To give you an idea how profitable it was, Brockman recounted that at one time he had $7,000 in gold coin buried in the corner of the blacksmith shop. It should be noted with the completion of the transcontinental railroad, traffic would soon be greatly diminished. In 1867, Brockman closed the shop, and went onto to assemble a large ranching empire.
Another example was Milford resident, Joseph C. Wemple (1830-1921). One of his enterprises in the 1870s was the operation of the Milford Flour Mill, the first one built in the Honey Lake Valley. Initially, it was a lucrative affair. As one family member later recalled that Joe would have in excess of $10,000.00 in cash in his house, proceeds from the flour mill.
