In 1873, the Champlin Brothers: George (1827-1903) and Lester (1848-1907), Tehama County stockmen, incorporated this area for summer range for sheep. George Champlin, a ‘49er, was associated with Leland Stanford, via Stanford’s attorney, Ariel Lathrop, who happened to be Stanford’s brother-in-law, with the Vina, Tehama County ranch. In May-June 1899, Champlin and his partner, John Boggs, sold their Lassen County property to Jane Lathrop Stanford for $8,000, who immediately transferred the property to the Stanford University.
Old stamp mill at Susanville, 1978. Courtesy of Tom Armstrong
Besides Susanville, California there is another Susanville, just up Highway 395 near John Day, Oregon. However, it has seen more livelier times.
It was a mining camp dating back to the mid-1860s, though its post office was established in 1901 in a dubious manner. Its biggest claim to fame was in 1913 and the discovery of the Armstrong nugget, that weighed 80.4 ounces and was believed to the largest of its kind found in Oregon. The nugget is on display at US Bank in Baker City, Oregon. After the 1930s, prosperity there dwindled and in 1952 the post office was closed. Today, its only inhabitants are prospectors during the summer, and a few curious seekers.
John Perry Mitchell “Jack” Smith. Courtesy of Verna Tanner Haley
At one time, one of Cornwall’s biggest exports were its tin miners. Many were employed in the mines of Virginia City and Grass Valley, the latter which holds a special Cornish Christmas celebration each year. Continue reading Lassen County Cornish→
Yesterday, may have given some a prelude that my birthday was approaching with the post about Riverside Hospital, where I was born, on this date a few decades ago. Yesterday was also an important milestone, having paid a visit to Reno Orthopeadic Center. All went well with my follow up from my hip surgery three months ago.
To celebrate, I am offering a one day only 50% off of my two latest titles Untold Stories and Lassen County at 150.What a bargain, that is like buying two books for the price of one. The only fine print, is this is available to stock on hand.
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This hospital was located at 2005 River Street, Susanville. There was a time in the area’s past that there were two local institutions where one was born–Potter’s and Riverside. My siblings were born at Potter’s, while I was born at Riverside, a few years ago. Rarely, did births occur at the Lassen County Hospital. During the 1950s, my Aunt Irene Purdy Trout worked at the latter, which they affectionally referred to as “County.” She recalled only one birth there for nearly a decade that she worked there. That all changed in the early 1960s, when a new Lassen County Hospital was constructed next to the old one. By that time, Ma Potter after some 30 plus years as a midwife was ready to retire and changes were on the horizon with Riverside and its aging facility in which it would be torn down in 1969.
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Mark W. Haviland. Courtesy of his great-great-grandson Kevin Allec
Mark W. Haviland was one of the many early Honey Lake Valley settlers of the 1850s who remained awhile, then moved on to the proverbial greener pastures. For him that was Paradise Valley, Nevada where he died in 1894. Continue reading Mark W. Haviland→
In 1916, the school was located on the Gibson/Haley Ranch and it was later relocated to Litchfield. On February 25, 1929, a $10,000 bond election was held to build a new schoolhouse at the Litchfield location and the bond was narrowly approved, 40 for and 37 against. The opponents retained an attorney, Ben V. Curler, to file a protest against the bond measure, the school district, and the County Board of Supervisors, the latter having had the authority to sell the bonds. The opponents argued that there were only 34 students and no prospect of any increase in student enrollment. In addition, they stated, the majority of the voters supporting the bonds were non-taxpayers and while most of the property owners favored a new building, they thought the proposed cost too excessive. On April 10, 1929, the school trustees and the County Board of Supervisors held a joint meeting to seek a solution. They agreed on a smaller school, only $6,500 in bonds was issued to construct the school. In 1951, Soldier Bridge, Standish and Bridgeport Schools were consolidated to form the Shaffer Union Elementary School District.
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The Sergi-Sacco wedding cake. Courtesy of C. Derek Anderson
One just never knows how pieces of history make it to the surface. The above photograph is just one example. When the bar from Marion’s on Weatherlow Street was being moved to a new home in Chester, some interesting material somehow managed to get lodged behind the bar. There was an assortment of about a dozen Red River Lumber Company photographs and this wedding cake picture.
On 10:00 a.m. Sunday, November 15, 1936 at Sacred Heart Church, Rose Agnes Sergi and James Sacco were married. The bridesmaids were Louise Saffores, Concha Larrea and Camilla Alosi. The best man was Marion Larrea. After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was held at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, with 500 guests. The centerpiece at the bride’s table was a magnificent five-foot tall wedding cake, weighing 250 pounds.
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Viewland, 1974. Photograph by and courtesy of D.B. Martin
The Smoke Creek country is one of my favorite haunts, introduced to me at an early age by my grandmother Margaret Purdy, a rockhound, among other things. When I worked out in the woods logging with my father, the desert was a nice escape from the trees. It is magical to me, since the lighting changes the character of the countryside, so in many ways, it always has a new feel to it. While it is fairly desolate these days, that was not the case a 100 years ago. I have several posts in the works about some unique historical aspects, since its history is largely ignored.
Finally, it has been ten weeks since the hip surgery and six weeks of weight bearing on my right leg, I am getting around, without a walker! However, with help from friends over the last few weeks, has allowed me to get out and about and take some photographs of historic sites to share in the near future.
Depending on weather, the long delayed Inspiration Tour may become a reality shortly.
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The ranch as it appeared in 1922, when Fruit Growers owned it.
On October 30,1919, the Fruit Growers Supply Company purchased it from McKissick Cattle Company, for approximately $29,000. Fruit Growers anticipated using Bagwell Springs for a water supply and they would use the ranch land to provide winter pasture for the horses they used in logging. Fruit Growers constructed a water pipeline from the ranch to the mill, but it was never used due to litigation filed by other water right users. Fruit Growers briefly operated their own dairy there and, in 1923, leased it to the O’Kelly family who operated Lassen Dairy through the 1950s. In 1934, Fruit Growers offered to sell the ranch to the City of Susanville. Fruit Growers cited it would make an ideal golf course, that the money received from the golf course could be used to develop the remainder of the property into a park. The City liked the idea, but said no. In 1935, Fruit Growers sold the ranch to the Republic Electric Power Company who wanted to acquire Bagwell Springs as an additional water supply for Susanville. Over the years, that Company went through numerous reorganizations and became CP National. In 1984, CP National donated the ranch to Lassen County, and it is now a county park.
An interesting footnote to the story is that Lassen Community College examined the property for a future campus back in the 1960s, but the asking price was too expensive.
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