by Susan Couso
In 1917, Susanville’s new Methodist Church was dedicated by Bishop A. W. Leonard of San Francisco. It had been a long difficult road to get to this point, but the church had finally become a permanent fixture in Lassen County that has lasted to this day.
Back in 1865, J. W. White, became the first ordained Methodist minister to preach in the Honey Lake Valley, and he was followed by a long list of others who understood the value of religion to a community. Circuit Riders spent most of their lives on the road bringing the word of God to the citizens of outlying areas, and Lassen County was no exception.
In 1874, Reverend Warren Nims was one of those who dedicated his life to bringing sanctity to our area. Susanville had no Methodist Church at the time.
By 1877, Rev. Nims had had enough of ‘open-air’ preaching and decided to do something about it. He started hauling rocks to the site on the corner of Cottage and S. Lassen streets that had first been donated to the church in 1862 by Isaac Roop. The church had never used the site and it fell into the ownership of M. G. White.
The church purchased the property from White’s estate. Nims worked by himself to build the foundation for a new church. There was little interest from others, but they soon noticed ‘Little Nims’, as he was called, toiling away, totally dedicated to his cause.
Out of admiration, or possibly shame, the populace of the town chipped in to help.
As Nims left Susanville to travel his circuit, the work would cease, but as Nims returned, the work returned. Finally, in the fall of 1877, the new Methodist Church was finished and dedicated by Bishop Bowman, with its bell tolling throughout the town.
It all ended in June of 1900, when fire ravaged the upper part of Susanville. The Methodist Church was on the list of many destroyed structures. But the trustees of the church rallied and began plans to build a new brick church which was completed in 1901. Work continued to refurbish the interior for many years and as late as 1912, donations were being solicited.
The Methodist Church was at last a pillar of the community with red brick exterior, Gothic windows and a beautiful corner belltower and steeple that reached to the heavens. It was stability at its best.
Then, once again, a conflagration brought the Methodists to their knees. On August 5th, 1915, the church fell to flames. And, once again, the community rallied to rebuild.
Ralph Taylor, who was a member of the church, was also an architect who had designed many local buildings. Taylor drew up plans to rebuild using the exterior walls which had miraculously survived.
On Sunday, May 27th, 1917, the newly finished Methodist Church revival was celebrated with a dedication.
The building stood as before, in defiance of tragedy, with only the redesign of the bell tower. No longer did the steeple reach to the heavens. The new bell was purchased from the sale of the salvaged bell from Lassen County’s old courthouse, which had been built in 1867.
Today, the United Methodist Church still presides over uptown Susanville and is a symbol of strength, fortitude, and faith.
