History

Lassen County Desert Land Act

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The Belfast District, 1898. It was to be the center piece of Merrill’s reclamation project.

The federal land patent process often referred as homesteads worked fine until the westward expansion. After crossing the Mississippi River there were dramatic changes in geography and climate. It was President Abraham Lincoln who corrected the situation. In 1862 Lincoln was able to pass three important pieces of legislation since his opposition failed to show up in Congress. These were the creation of the Department of Agricultural, the Pacific Railroad Act and the 1862 Homestead Act. While the Homestead Act did improve matters in the west, it was not a one-size cure all fix.             The arid intermountain west presented its own challenges. A unique chain of events occurred when Captain Charles A. Merrill announced in 1873 of his reclamation plan for the Honey Lake Valley by tapping Eagle Lake as its water supply. It should be noted that Merrill was not a novice to land issues. He came to California, in 1864, from his native state of Maine. In 1870, Merrill was involved in a title dispute of a Mexican land grant near Santa Barbara. As a result of that involvement he worked ardently as a land agent for individuals who had capital to invest.             

For Merrill to move forward on his Eagle Lake project he would need federal legislation for an easier method to homestead arid lands. Merrill recruited California Congressman J.K. Lutrell to craft such legislation. On March 3, 1875 Congress approved Lutrell’s bill, the Lassen County Desert Land Act. In essence, an individual could claim up to 640 acres of government land, versus the standard 160-acre limit. A person then had two years time to reclaim the land by irrigation and they could purchase the land from the government at $1.25 per acre. The last provision was unique in that one did not have to reside on the land as a requirement. The Lassen County Desert Land Act gave birth to the much more famous Desert Land Act of 1877. The two Acts were nearly identical; expect of course the latter applied to all arid regions of the American west. There was one other major change in the fee structure. Under the Desert Land Act, “the settlers pay twenty-five cents per acre at the time of application, to have three years (versus two) for the purpose of irrigation and to pay one dollar per acre upon making the final proof, i.e. being issued a land patent to the property. The Desert Land Act was immensely popular and large swaths of land in the West were obtained under this Act.             

 It should be noted there was a dark side to it. This was from the Lassen County Desert Land Act’s non-residence provision that was included in the Desert Land Act. In the first decade there was a significant amount of fraud. It enabled land speculation companies to acquire thousands of acres of land by hiring dummy entry men to file on said land. Locally, this was particularly the case in eastern Honey Lake Valley and the Madeline Plains. Later amendments to the Act reduced the fraudulent activity. 

More tomorrow . . .

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History

An Accidental Field of Dreams

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Westwood Ballpark. Courtesy of the Westwood Museum

During 1938 and 1939 the Red River Lumber Company experienced a lot of labor strife. Due to a strike in February 1939, Red River closed the mill. A unique thing happened at that time, Westwood would soon have a baseball park.

One of the effects with the mill closure was that residents were now without their regular wood supply for heating, for those who did not have steam heat. The idle strikers volunteered to cut trees on forest service land for firewood. They established a wood lot on the lower end of Birch Street, adjacent to the current VFW Hall.

Jim Travers came up with the idea they could use some recreational outlet to dispense with their extra energy. On the property they were using as the wood lot was a partially destroyed house caused by a fire some time ago. Travers and Earl Yaber came up with the idea to transform the property into a baseball park, and the other strikers were supportive of the project. The AFL union asked Red River if they could lease the property for that, and the company consented. In no time at all, the volunteers quickly cleared the property, removing the old building and hauled in 200 loads of decomposed granite from Fredonyer Summit to spread over the baseball field. In short order the property was transformed into a ballpark that could accommodate 600 people, along with parking, drinking fountains, rest rooms, an enclosed press box and seventeen flood lights. Nearly 500 men and women contributed to the cause.

On Sunday, June 12, the first softball games were held. First up was the Westwood AFL, who lost to Susanville’s Model Laundry by a score of 7 to 8. The next match was between the H.S. Anderson Club and Fruit Growers’ Story Club, which Anderson prevailed in the tight match that went into four extra innings with a score of 14 to 13. 

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History

Eagle Lake Trout as a commodity

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Eagle Lake trout, April 6, 1961. Courtesy of California Department of Fish & Game

During World War I food rationing was on a voluntary basis. The Lassen folks were a very patriotic bunch and a look back at the records one would thought it was mandatory. Since meat and wheat were two items to conserve some looked for alternatives.

Take for instance our neighbors in Washoe County. Arrangements were made to allow fish from the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake be harvested for market. This caught the attention of Susanville resident L.W. Boggs. He proposed that the same thing could be done with Eagle Lake bass and trout. Not only would this conserve beef and pork, but the fish would be good for the local diet. However, state law prohibited commercial fishing in lakes and streams. Boggs proposal never gained traction.

It should be noted that in the late 1800s wagon loads of Eagle Lake trout were caught and sold in Susanville at twenty-five cents a pound.

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History

Riverside Apartments, 1965

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Fruit Growers Apartments, 1920s

In the summer of 1964, Robin McVickers and Fred Toler formed the Northlands Holding Company for their newest endeavor. The two men purchased four of the old Fruit Growers Supply Company’s apartments on Alexander Avenue in Susanville from the Eagle Lake Lumber Company. The buildings were completely renovated, became known as the Riverside Apartments when they were opened in September 1965. One building, in particular, was dubbed “The Chateau.” This building was specifically set aside as a dormitory for Lassen College students and could accommodate fifty-six students. This apartment complex still exists and is known as the Parkview Garden Apartments.

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History

Why some came West

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Jacob McKissick Ranch, Long Valley, 1903. Courtesy of PhilipS. Hall

The early day argonauts of the 1840s and 1850s were a hardy lot. First you had to be tough both mentally and physically to make the overland journey, or you perished along the way, like some did. When gold was discovered in California that was a very appealing lure to many to make the journey west.

For others, it was opportunity to start a new life, because of past actions haunted a person. There were other indidivuals when they came West became very influential residents, even they had left behind them a shady background. Jacob McKissick, fondly referred to as Uncle Jake settled in Long Valley in 1859. Prior to that he had resided in Iowa. McKissick in time would become one of the largest stockmen in Lassen & Washoe Counties. In 1898, he returned to his old stomping grounds in Iowa. When McKissick lived in Iowa, he was in an altercation that led to a man’s death, but was not charged at the time. In 1898, the dead man’s partner recognized McKissick and had murder charges brought against him. McKissick was acquitted. There are countless tales such as this. For instance, John Sutter, the founder of Sacramento, fled his native Switzerland before criminal charges were filed on him.

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History

The Buntingville Breeze

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A view of Buntingville, November, 1980.

The Buntingville Breeze was one of those short-lived parody publications. When it made its debut in May 1899 the editor went by the non-deplume Spot Cash Sockettuem. The following issue revealed the editor’s identity as Mike Phillips, the town’s only merchant. It never survived long enough for a third issue as Phillips closed his Buntingville store and opened a new one in Standish.

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History

The Final Burning of Bunnell’s

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June 6, 1914 burning of Bunnell’s-Courtesy of Holly Blackburn

In 1867, Luther Wellington “Wells” Bunnell relocated from Butt Valley in Plumas to nearby Big Meadows, known today as Lake Almanor. One of his distant neighbors was Dr. Willard Pratt, who opened the first hotel in Big Meadows which was met with great success. After all, those who could escape ever so briefly in the summer months from the Sacramento Valley, flocked to places like Big Meadows to escape the heat, after all this pre-air conditioner times.

For thirty-eight years Bunnells became a well known resort. Changes were on the horizon, especially with the Great Western Power Company who had entered the picture in 1901 with plans to transform Big Meadows into a massive reservoir as part of its hydroelectric power system. On April 11, 1906, Bunnell entered into an agreement to sell his place for to Great Western Power for $35,000. He moved to Susanville the following year and for a brief time the power company used the resort, now closed to the public as their headquarters. With the dam nearing completion and the flooding of Big Meadows to become a reality, on the evening of June 6, 1914 all the buildings at Bunnells were set ablaze for demolition.

The ‘annex” at Bunnell’s – Courtesy of Holly Blackburn

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History

Pike’s Point, Eagle Lake

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A view of Pike’s Point, Eagle Lake, circa 1917. Courtesy of Wyn Wachhorst

How and why it was so named, I do not know. The earliest reference to it being referred to as Pikes Point was in 1920. Anyhow, I thought some people would like to see the difference from Eagle Lake’s high and low water levels, though from two different angles. By they way, most people identify the site as the Eagle Lake Marina at the south shore of the lake.

Piked Point and the south shore of Eagle Lake, November 9, 1941 – Courtesy of Hank Martinez

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History

McClure Forest Fire

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July 11, 2019

The 1945 forest fire season was a busy one, but acreage was minimal comparison to other years. The McClure Forest Fire was the largest in Lassen County for that year. The fire was spotted at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, September 2, 1945, just south of Big Jacks Lake. It spread quickly, fanned by hot dry winds. As the Fruit Growers Supply Company had two railroad logging camps in the area—Harvey and Stanford—with in no time they had 750 men on the fire line. The Lassen National Forest dispatched a crew of 50. Three days later the fire was contained. In all, 5440 acres was consumed, 4000 of which was virgin timber.

Map of the fire location.

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History

Westwood National Bank Continued

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Westwood, 1945

During the reorganization of Red River in the early 1930s, it was only a matter of time that bank issue once again would be scrutinized. On June 6, 1934, Clinton questioned how the bank operated: “As to the Westwood National Bank, I feel that this should be run as a bank and not as a subsidiary financial department of Red River. I think that the Bank board of directors should direct the policy and business of the bank and that the finance committee of the bank should pass on loans and these be on the merits of the loan and not from the standpoints of its convenience of Red River.”            

Clinton’s concerns were confirmed when investigations were conducted on the bank’s affairs. It was disclosed that certain family members used the bank to obtain dubious loans, which would not have been approved by a regular bank. For instance, a loan was made to finance a portion of the construction of the Walker-Hovey railroad in Modoc County, which was being bailed out by the same time by the government’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation.           

These events allowed Clinton to move forward on his case to dissolve the Westwood National Bank. Clinton cited it was an ill conceived venture as no one in the Walker family had any banking expertise. While it was agreed to dispose of the bank, that was easier said than done. After all bank failures were a common occurrence across the nation, so it was not the best time to put a bank on the market. It was even suggested they could sale it to the residents of Westwood. One of the obstacles to sale the bank was Willis, who also served as the bank’s president. After two years of stalling by Willis, it was decided to put Wellington Henderson (Clinton’s son-in-law) in charge. Wellington, it should be noted had banking experienced as he had worked for Bank of America. On September 18, 1936 Willis made the announcement that the Westwood National Bank reached an agreement with the Bank of America for the sale of the bank. Willis stated “This sale brings an affiliation for our local bank that will enable us to render an even greater service to the local community. Our bank will become a branch of the state-wide institution in the near future. The local officers and staff will remain.”            While the bank building has long since been demolished, the concrete vault still remains, a testament to better times.

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Exploring Lassen County's Past