Just
about everything you could ever want to know about Susanville, California, and
Lassen County, can be found in the Lassen Historical Museum in Susanville.
Interestingly,
you’ll also learn about the remarkable connections that Susanville has to early
Nevada.
The
museum is located at 115 North Weatherlow Street, about one block north of Main
Street. Susanville itself is located 86 miles northwest of Reno via U.S. 395.
Susanville
traces its name and its roots to one man, Isaac Roop. In June 1854, Roop erected
a one-story log house from which he sold goods to emigrants traveling through
the area on the Nobles Emigrant Trail, which had been established a few years
earlier.
Known
as the Roop House or Roop’s Fort (as well as Fort Defiance), the crude building
sold staples as well as tobacco and whiskey. In 1856, the structure was the
site of the signing of a document forming the State of Nataqua (allegedly a
Native American word for “woman” or “wife”), with frontiersman Peter Lassen
named President and Roop as secretary.
Apparently,
that portion of what today is Lassen County and Washoe County (in California
and Nevada) was not clearly defined when the boundary between California and
the Utah Territory (of which Nevada was then part of) was drawn so residents
believed they could create their own territory or state to avoid being taxed by
either.
In
1859, the short-lived Nataqua territory became of the effort to create a Nevada
Territory and Roop was named the first Provisional Territorial Governor of
Nevada (with all believing the Susanville area and Honey Lake were in what was
designated as Roop County, Nevada Territory).
This
confusion regarding where the boundary between California and the new Nevada
Territory persisted until February 1863, when Plumas County, California officials
decided to resolve the matter by issuing warrants for the arrest of Roop and
other local citizens.
Known
as the Sagebrush War, the conflict—which only lasted a day and a half—began
when the Plumas County Sheriff and 40 men arrived in Susanville to enforce the
county’s authority over the region. After a day of unsuccessful negotiation,
apparently the two sides began shooting at each other.
The
skirmish continued for about four hours with the Susanville/Honey Lake
continguent holed up in Roop’s House while the Plumas County group clustered in
a barn that was about 500-feet away. During the back-and-forth volleys, either
two or three participants were injured but there were no casualties.
Finally,
a truce was called and the warring parties (if you call them that) agreed to
cease hostilities and let the governments of California and the Nevada
Territory resolve the matter. A year later, a survey showed the area was indeed
inside California’s borders and in response the California legislature
established Lassen County, with Susanville named the county seat.
Despite
not being able to serve as Nevada’s provisional governor, Roop played an
important role in the community. Generally considered the town’s founder, the
name, Susanville, is derived from Roop’s daughter’s name. The settlement was
originally named Rooptown but was changed by Roop to Susanville in 1857.
As
for Roop’s background, he was born in Maryland in 1822 and headed to Shasta
County, California in 1850, after his wife died. After establishing a
successful farming and trading business, he lost nearly everything in a fire.
In 1853, he moved to the Honey Lake area to rebuild his fortune with a trading
post.
He
served as District Attorney of Lassen County from 1864 until his death in 1869.
The
Lassen Historical Museum, which encompasses the original Roop’s Fort, offers a
number of displays that spotlight regional history. In addition to arrowhead
collections and Native American art, it features diplays of antique weapons,
equipment, furniture, and bottles, as well as an extensive historic photograph
collection.
A
visit to the fort is worthwhile just to get a sense of the rough and
challenging conditions under which the community’s founder once lived and
worked.
For
more information, go to: www.cityofsusanville.net/departments/administration/community-development/parks-and-rec/museum/.
The
museum is open year-round, call for hours at 530-257-3292.
