In 1864, German immigrant, David Goldstein, along with fellow countryman, William Greehn arrived in Susanville and opened a general merchandise store. They named their enterprise D. Goldstein & Company. In 1871, they dissolved their partnership and Goldstein moved on to greener pastures. In 1874, Greehn entered into a partnership with Morris Asher. It would eventually be a life changing  event for the two men.

In 1882, Morris Asher married Fannie Greehn, William’s oldest daughter. In 1887, Greehn relinquished his interest in the store, and devoted himself full-time as a lending institution. There were no banks in Susanville, so those who had financial means, lent money. Of course, the borrowers not only had to sign a promissory note, but mortgage any real property they might possess to the lender, in this Greehn. Those that had defaulted on their loans, Greehn took them to court and usually became owner of the borrower’s real property. Greehn would eventually own quite the portfolio of real estate, like what would become known as the Five Dot Ranch in the Willow Creek Valley, the Leonard residence, which became known as the Susanville Elk’s Lodge and the Bremner Sawmill on the Susan River. In 1902, Green retired and moved to Byron, Contra Costa County, where his daughter, Hattie Grunauer resided. He passed away in 1907.

Morris Asher continued with the general mercantile business. In 1912, in 700 block of Main Street, he had a stone business building constructed, which embedded in the stone named the  Greehn Building in honor of his father-in-law. It still remains today.

Greehn’s descendants have made last lasting impact in the motion picture and television industry, and we will explore that topic shortly.

Tim