Prior to the Fernley & Lassen Railroad’s arrival in 1912, Richmond Road, just across the Susan River was a bucolic dirt road. It consisted primarily the homes of the Cains and Winchesters, with their apple orchards. Though during the 1890s, along the Susan River was the town’s first Catholic Church, its Chinatown and of course the iconic landmark Arnold Planing Mill. Continue reading Susanville – Richmond Road
In December 1856, Manly Thompson located near the base of this mountain and built one of the first cabins in the region. Like so many of the original settlers of the Honey Lake Valley he moved onto he did remain in the region and moved on. On October 27, 1875, Thompson sold his 276-acre ranch to James P. Sharp for $6,000 and moved to Elko, Nevada. His lasting legacy of the region is his name applied to this prominent peak.
Recently, I had accidentally stumble upon this most interesting website concerning Thompson Peak. It is worth the gander. For me it brought back some interesting memories when my brother, Gary and others, including yours truly, gave serious consideration of climbing its rock face back in the mid-1970s.
A little known fact is that Susanville had its own bandstand. It was located at the top of Main Street. It was through the energetic efforts of the Mountain Echo Band. In September 1902, the octagonal bandstand was constructed and even adorned with electrical lights. On September 14, 1902, the bandstand was dedicated by the Mountain Echo Band with their first concert. Two weeks later it was focal point of royal pageant during the county fair. A few years later the Mountain Echo Band disbanded and the bandstand fell into disrepair. By 1906, one observer said the relic had become eyesore on the community. In 1908, it was torn down.
On a recent trip to Standish, to see if the gossip was true that work on the demolition of Neil’s Mercantile was underway. Suffice to say, it was not true, but discussions have been in the works for the past few years. Continue reading Standish Hall Association
In reality, Westwood had two distinct communities—the town proper and the neighborhood on the other side of the millpond. Mill B and the initial housing quarters were constructed on the east bank of Robbers Creek. All of the permanent facilities, including Mill A and the town proper were built on the west bank. The older community had been referred with several designations. In the early years, some called it Oakland, others Baytown. Whatever the case may be, residents of Westwood stated it was where the “foreigners” lived—mainly Italians and Mexicans. References in a pre-politically correct era dubbed the place Dago Town. Eventually, using a less derogatory tone it evolved into Old Town—being the original location of Westwood.
In the summer of 1943, a contest was held to rename Old Town. Thirty-nine people suggested ninety-two names. The new name selected was Pine Town submitted by Roger Mentick who received a $15 prize in War Savings Stamps.
Today’s topic is just a little bit strange. First of all, I must confess when it comes to self promotion, I flunk in that department. My passion is research, preserving and writing the region’s rich and diverse heritage. Of course, it takes money to do it, so one option was book publishing. Of course, that medium is changing rapidly, and that is not where I am going today. Continue reading Lake Almanor Story
It was not until the 1920s that the Red River Lumber Company experienced problems with forest fires. Some time back I wrote about that company’s fire train. On July 27, 1926, a fire started at Butt Valley where Red River was logging. This was one instant that while the fire train was dispatched it was no match for the inferno. Continue reading Prattville Burn
In 1870, when gold was discovered at Hayden Hill, it was only a matter of time for some enterprising entrepreneurs to come up with plan to make money on this new gold rush. In this case it was John Watts, David Watson and Benjamin Neuhaus. On April 24, 1871, they incorporated as the Big Valley Toll Road Company. The road would begin at the Neuhaus’ ranch (Murrer) in Willow Creek Valley, then north along Eagle Lake, Grasshopper Valley to Hayden City, then to Hayden Hill with a terminus near Adin. These “dreamers” hoped to raise $40,000 in stock to finance their endeavor. While the concept on paper had merit, in reality it was doomed to failure, as it was already an established road. In 1875, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors declared the route as a public thoroughfare. Portions of the original route would eventually become part of State Highway 139.
Long before the Lassen Peak eruptions of 1914-15 there were reports of other volcanic activity in the region. It was said that Cinder Cone, ten miles east of Mount Lassen, had erupted during the winter of 1850-51. Continue reading Cinder Cone
Traveling across Highway 44, the Pine Creek Valley appears to be a desolate wind swept sagebrush flat, surrounded by pine trees. While in a sense that maybe true today, with a great deal of human activity concentrated at the Bogard Rest Station. By the way the area is named for John Jasper Bogard, a Tehama County stockman, who in the mid-1870s started using the area for summer grazing of sheep. Actually, the region was home to many sheep outfits, such as Champs, McCoy and Stanford, the latter as in Stanford University. These sheep outfits had a huge impact on western Lassen County, and so many of the natural features were named for them. My Lassen County Almanac: An Historical Encyclopedia contains all the details and more. Continue reading Pine Creek Valley