by Susan Couso
Thomas Barlow Walker was an interesting man, with a lot of imagination, business sense and dreams. He was born in 1840, and from the time his father died in 1849, Walker worked to better his life. At only nine years old, he began working in a bakery, and through the years he picked up what education he could find.
The mostly self-educated Walker amassed a fortune as the result of intelligence, foresight, and clever business dealings. Around 1900, he was the wealthiest man in Minnesota, and by his death, he was among the 15 wealthiest men in the world.
Walker used his fortunes to build libraries and art galleries, and genuinely cared about making the world a better place. He had a large collection of art himself and allowed tours of his mansion in Minneapolis. Most of his art was eventually donated to museums.
As his business interests around Minneapolis began to dim, Walker looked to the Pacific Northwest to add to his fortune. Red River Lumber Company was incorporated in 1883, and Walker and his partners were ready to expand.
By 1902, he and his sons were investing in timberland ‘out west’, and in 1909, the Walkers purchased the land surrounding Mountain Meadows in Lassen County. Their hope was to build a new lumber enterprise that would surpass all others, and they chose the town of Susanville to be the center of their new venture.
Walker had a vision. His town would grow and thrive and become the center of the area. But he had a distinct dislike for liquor and the effects that it had on workers, their families and communities. He wanted a ‘dry’ town.
The Walker family, Thomas, and his five sons, who shared in the business, purchased, and claimed land in Northern California amounting to almost one million acres. This was to be their dream, and it was a very big one.
Thomas Walker began by purchasing all of the saloons in Susanville, except one. He planned on getting rid of the one ‘hold out’ by having ‘dry laws’ passed. The city of Susanville had previously set limits on the number of saloons in town, so, with control of the existing saloons, Walker could ensure that his town would be safe from the evils of drink.
In 1912, the Walkers had built a temporary mill in Mountain Meadows to supply their lumber needs for the Susanville expansion. Plans were in place to bring in about 3,000 workers and their families. Houses, schools, and shops would be needed. It would change Susanville forever.
But as the Walkers moved to secure the town for their future, Red River Lumber Company’s partners, back in Minnesota, decided that they did not want to build in Susanville. The plans all changed, and Walker immediately worked to construct his new town at the Mountain Meadows site.
As building began on the mill, building also began on the town. Homes, stores, a hospital, opera house, bowling alley and numerous other facilities needed to be built to provide for the workers. No one would need to leave town, and no liquor would be sold.
With Walker pulling out of Susanville, it was no longer feasible for him to own the saloons there, and he let them go. Soon Susanville was back to normal, and before long, those thirsty Westwood lumbermen were making the trip to Susanville to find a drink.
Walker was getting old, and not long after the town of Westwood had been completed, he turned the Red River Lumber Company over to his sons. He died in Minneapolis in 1928, and in December of 1945, Walker’s dream was sold to the Fruit Growers Supply Company for $3,000,000.
