Susanville

Oregon's ghost towns are timber camps and high-desert gold strikes, preserved by dry air and long distances.

USS Susanville (PC-1149) was a patrol boat in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. She was laid down as PC-1149 on 6 November 1943 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan; launched on 11 January 1944; and commissioned on 22 June 1944. She sailed, via the Mississippi River and New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Gulf of Mexico and conducted shakedown training out of Miami, Florida. During her first year of service, PC-1149 cruised the waters along the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean Sea.

Little stands at Susanville today beyond foundations and scattered traces. Foundation-only sites reward visitors who enjoy reading a landscape — bring an old plat map or historic photo if you can find one, and the vanished streets start to reappear.

Public access makes Susanville one of the easier ghost towns to actually stand in — though "public" in ghost-town country can still mean miles of dirt road, so check recent trip reports first.

Susanville is publicly accessible — but give the word "accessible" some respect. Out here it can still mean miles of unmaintained dirt road. Check recent trip reports, carry extra water and a spare tire, download offline maps, and let someone know your route.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "USS Susanville" covers Susanville in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Susanville gets better.