Several folks figured it out, that it is Sunkist Street in 1920, which was the road leading to the Fruit Growers Supply Company’s mill. There was a real easy clue, as I forgot to change the photograph’s name. In case some of you may not realize, if you click on the photograph, it will enlarge the image.
In 1916, the Al G. Barnes Circus advertised that his “The Only Real Wild Animal Show on Earth! was coming to Susanville. It was announced that there would be 65 animal acts and exotic animals from around the world. The circus never arrived, as the circus train derailed near Flanigan, Nevada.
Two years later, Barnes’ circus finally did make it to town. On May 8, 1918 crowds lined Main Street for a mile-long parade with exotic animals. At Halltown tents were set up for the performances. The only problem encountered this time was the typical erratic spring weather witnessed a few snow flurries during the day.
It has been awhile since I did quiz. Some may remember the last featured question was High Rock Ranch, and it stumped quite a few to my amazement. So just for fun, does anyone recognize this Susanville Street? You may leave your answer in the comment section, or the shy one can email me. The winner, by the way will receive the 2017 historical calendar when it is released in the fall.
Delbert Lester Brown (1890-1966) gave this most unusual address to his homestead that was situated on the bench above Pittville. Brown located there in 1914, after moving from Lakeview, Oregon. When Brown was digging a well by hand, he reached a point when it was necessary to blast out the rocks with dynamite. Brown set his charges into the well hole and tried to detonate them. Nothing happened, so he crawled into the hole to locate the problem. Brown discovered the charges had become damp. Since there was little light, Brown, with the claw end of a hammer, accidentally struck one of the blasting caps. Luckily, it did not go off. At that moment, Brown decided that the hand of the Lord was on his side and that he must change his ways. After that incident Brown began spreading the gospel and he became widely known as Preacher Brown.
Between 1930 and 1960 the majority of Susanville’s population was either born at Potter’s Maternity Home or Riverside Hospital. Potter’s was located on the 1600 Block of Main Street on the corner at Park. In 1966 the house was moved to South Street, as United California Bank acquired the property for a new location. The bank building was torn down in August 2015 and was replaced with a Rite Aid store, which opened in May 2016.
Logging operations of the early 1900s was extremely labor intensive. Motorized equipment was still in the experimental stages. One of the best advancements was the development of the Michigan Big Wheels, which everyone just called them big wheels. The wheels were a simple but efficient way to transport fallen logs to a landing, wherein they were then loaded onto railroad cars. The big wheels in time would become a key component in revolutionizing logging methods.
Horses provided the power to operate the big wheels. The name big wheels stems from their size ten to twelve feet in diameter. It was necessary for that size, in order to straddle a log and navigate moderate terrain. The logs were attached to a twelve foot tongue and with a lever, the driver could not only elevate a portion of a log in the front thereby making it easier to drag, but could loosen or tighten the cable, for braking purposes. One big drawback of big wheels was that it required a great deal of labor. Most big wheel logging camps employed as many as of 150 men. Two thirds of them worked as “swampers.” It was their job to remove brush, tree saplings, rocks and other debris that could injure a horse’s leg.
By the late 1920s, both Fruit Growers Supply Company and the Red River Lumber Company had replaced the big wheels with motorized “cats”.
With Memorial Day or with the older generation, Decoration Day, around the corner, there are a dozen or so graves throughout the county where the person for a variety reasons, were buried on their property where they died. This was of course, prior to 1900, and prior to laws enacted where burials were required to be placed in a cemetery. Some of these graves are well marked and others are not. From time to time, we will explore these graves.
For the inaugural, we start with Jacob Murrer, who happens to be my great-great-grandfather. On July 1, 1876, Jacob Murrer, at the age of 49, dropped dead while tending J.P. Wallace’s livestock at Round Valley. The family brought Jacob’s body back to Willow Creek Valley for burial on the land he claimed. It was a simple matter of economics to bury him on the ranch, rather than bringing the body to Susanville for a formal service. The family had little means, and it did not help that Wallace owed Murrer $253 for back wages and other services. While the family’s financial improved over the years, a formal marker was never placed. His grandson, Alfred Murrer, always placed a salt lick there for many years as an impromptu marker.
The Honey Lake Valley Irrigation District was an interesting creature, and one of many entities to reclaim the lands on the east side of Honey Lake. It was one of the last organizations to do so after others had tried for thirty years.
The district, like its predecessors, was faced with one gigantic problem, water. By 1916, when the district was formed, nearly all the water in the region had been claimed. After all the district claimed water from as a far away as Butte Lake, in Lassen Volcanic National Park to be diverted to Poison Lake, then a channel to Pine Creek, to Eagle Lake and so forth.
In addition, they examined one of the closets sources to them, Skedaddle Creek. The district’s engineer, William Wales, noted that even though the drainage covered a relatively small area, it would be imperative to rebuild the original dam that had washed out some twenty years prior, not just as a water source, but to prevent flooding. Wales estimated that the reservoir would cover some 231 acres and hold on the average 5,000 acre feet of water. Wales recommended a new dam be constructed of concrete, at an estimated cost of $63,631. This district, since its inception, was plagued with financial and legal problems and none of their projects materialized.
