In 1950 Seattle investors purchased large tracts of shoreline property for development. This was the last parcel to be subdivided.
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McCoy Flat
There are three McCoy Flats in Lassen County. Today’s feature is the McCoy Flat located approximately three miles west of Spalding Tract. It was named for Tehama County rancher Leo Lewis McCoy who used this area for summer pasture from 1874 to 1913.
In 1951, there was a lot of activity at McCoy Flat when the Fruit Growers Supply Company logged the region.
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Snag Lake, Lassen County
Snag Lake located in the eastern portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park, was originally called Snaggy Lake, and over the years its named shortened to Snag. The lake was formed 200 years ago from the lava flows that created the Fantastic Lava Beds. Trapped in the lake, after it was created, were a number of pine trees that died and are commonly referred to as “snags.”
The lake is only accessed by hiking or horseback. However, those who make the trek agree its worth it. I made the trek in the early 1980s, traversing most of the eastern half of the park.
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A Westwood Hospital Relic
Awhile back, a visitor to the site came across a post about the Westwood Hospital. It was a topic, near and dear to him, since he was born there. Of course, the Maternity Ward of the Westwood Hospital was a very busy place back in Westwood’s heydays. This created a small chain reaction, wherein someone sent a photograph of one of the bassinets used in the Westwood Hospital where the newborns were placed. Thus, thank you David Zoller for sharing the same. I am sure when others are doing research about the Westwood Hospital where they were born will appreciate this.
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Sierra Shangri-La
This was a unique 1953 publication put together by Harold Gilliam, and most of material originally appeared in This World segment of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gilliam later became one of the earliest environmental journalist and had a lengthy career with the San Francisco Chronicle.
Gilliam’s prose and unique perpspective differs from a lot of promotional material. From time to time excerpts will be featured. The following are the opening paragraphs:
“Susanville comes as a surprise. You drive for hours through the Northern Sierra—up deep gorges, along roaring streams, through high mountain forests, beneath jagged peaks sheathed in ice this time of year—and suddenly there below you at the head of a wide valley is an attractive city, with homes, businesses, railroads and factories.
“This mountain city is the capital of the region that is legally part of California but in most ways is as different from the rest of the State as was James Hilton’s mythical Valley of the Blue Moon from the region which surrounded it.
“Here in this isolated valley men once fought a frontier war to maintain their independence from California. Here in 1952, serenely indifferent to threats of civilization’s atomic destruction, men work confidently on a project which will have no practical results for 150 years.”
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A transformative time
In November 1929, Henry Neunaber of the accounting department had some extra time on his hands. On June 30, 1929, the California Division of Motor Vehicles released its annual car registration figures for each county. In 1914, there were 123,516 registered vehicles in California. In 1929, that figure increased by a whopping 1,859,523.
In Lassen County in 1914 there were 181 vehicles. In 1929 there 3,942 an increase of 22 times. Only three other California counties exceeded that growth rate—Contra Costa, Mariposa and Monterey. Of course, local boosters were proud as just another indicator of the region’s prosperity.
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The flood of 1952
Seasoned residents refer to a January snowstorm in 1952 as the “big snow.” In three days, Susanville was covered with five feet of snow and on the other side of the mountain in Westwood eight feet of snow blanketed the town. With all that precipitation from a single storm, it was far from the wettest year on record.
By late March officials were concerned with the spring run-off. A snow survey taken late that indicated there was eleven feet of snow at Silver Lake with over a fifty percent water content. By the first of April stream flows were quickly rising, especially on Piute Creek. By April 4, that creek was transformed in a raging torrent—Memorial Park now a lake and homes further down on Foss and Cornell Streets received substantial flood damage.
Susan River through Susanville caused minor damage, with the exception at the railroad trestle that spanned the river at South Lassen Street, trapped debris backing up flood waters. Downstream was another matter with tributaries to the river increasing water flows causing widespread flooding in the Standish district.
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Riverside Hospital Sold
On July 27, 1944 Dr. George S. Martin made the stunning announcement that he sold the Riverside Hospital located at 2005 River Street, Susanville. He sold it to two Susanville physicians Dr. Clair Burnett and Dr. J.W. Crever for a whopping sum of $825,000. It had been a profitable venture for Martin who came to Susanville in 1920 to establish the hospital. He had a lucrative contract with the Fruit Growers Supply Company to provide its employees with all their medical needs. At the time of the sale, Martin noted that over 12,000 patients had been admitted to the hospital in a twenty-three year span.
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Our Version of Punxsutawney Phil
While back east they may have their ground hogs, we have our rock chucks that can easily be spotted around many parts of the region. They do have a special affinity for the Lassen Community College campus. First time students who see them on campus are intrigued. It has been mentioned to me a time or two, that the college should replace its mascot, a cougar, with a rock chuck.
In 1898, one local weather observer gave his opinion of that particular ground hogs day. “There were several gleams of sunshine in which the festive rodent might have disported if so disposed. As a weather indicator the ‘ground hog’ is not a howling success in this strip of the country. He is a fraud.”