Unfortunately, my family heritage, at times has a lot to be desired. Take for instance the 19th century two most prominent Lassen County bachelor uncles—James Byers and Jake McKissick. Both settled there in 1859, and both amassed a huge ranching empire. With their passing they left behind an incredible amount of wealth for the heirs to fight over, which they did.
That was not the case with my Uncle Jake Murrer. In 1898, Jake with his brother Ed, bought Joseph Eddy’s ranch at the headwaters of Willow Creek, now known as Murrer’s Upper Meadow, though the family refers to it as the upper ranch. This is where Jake’s claim to fame was born. Jake made his home at the upper ranch, while his brother remained on the home place. For whatever unknown reason on September 2, 1907 he literally blew up the ranch house with dynamite stored at nearby Eagle Lake tunnel works. When authorities inquired where he was at the time of the explosion, he stated he was seated on the sofa. This could not be as pieces of fabric from the sofa were now decorating the cottonwood trees. After a brief stint at the Napa State Insane Asylum, he later returned and sold his interest to Mary Murrer, and would later spend the rest of his life in Susanville, with his sister, Rose Bagin.
Another bit of his legacy, is how and where he is buried. Not only was he not buried in the family plot, the family selected one the furthest possible from the family plot. Not only that they cemented the top of his grave, as his sister-in-law Mary Murrer, remarked they were not leaving any chance behind for him to escape.