Amedee was the premier railroad boom town on the east side of Honey Lake. It was created in essence when the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) extended its line there in 1891. The following year witnessed lively times rivaling in population of Susanville. The town’s centerpiece was the majestic Amedee Hotel. In 1899, the NCO began work to extend its line north, and Amedee slipped a notch or two in importance. A revival of sorts began in 1910 with the Standish Water Company’s development of an elaborate irrigation system. In 1912. A second railroad, the Fernley & Lassen, added more excitement to region.
By 1917, Amedee’s decline had begun. In 1918, the NCO abandoned the segment of the railroad that serviced Amedee. At the same time the Standish Water Company’s project failed. Then with the advent of World War I a major segment of the east side of Honey Lake was de-populated. By the 1930s, the only occupants of the hotel was the town’s caretaker. By the 1940s the hotel was in a slow decay. In the spring of May 1950, Jack Humphrey who owned it had the hotel dismantled, since it was constructed with premium lumber. The lumber was then hauled to Jack’s residence near Milford, in which he intended to use it to construct a new home the following year. That September a forest fire destroyed the barn that the lumber was stored in.
