Roop’s Fort was in Short War
November 11, 1960
By Jill Crump
ROOP’S FORT, nearly 100 years old, is one of the few outstanding landmarks in Susanville, Lassen County, which turns back the clock for those who vaguely remember wagon trains.
It was this small sturdily constructed log building where immigrants traded and replenished supplies before pushing farther westward.
It was built by Isaac Roop, first white settler in the area, and known as Roop’s House until the Sage War developed in 1865. This was a short lived hassle between Lassen County citizens, who holed up in the cabin. and Plumas County officials, and citizens who took their stand from a barn 200 yards away.
Plumas County felt the territory was theirs and after a half day of ammunition exchange, everything remained status quo. Thus, the structure was dubbed Roop’s Fort.
Susanville, named for Isaac Roop’s daughter, flourished around this trading center. And with Roop still heading the local citizens, he was named provisional governor when the Territory of Nevada was formed with settlers to the east.
Roop’s Fort is located one half block from the center of Susanville overlooking Memorial Park, once the meadow which offered the resting spot for emigrants and their stock.
