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Lassen Monument, c. 1862

Peter Lassen was murdered on April 26, 1859 in Clapper Canyon (then known as Black Rock Canyon), in the Black Rock Desert as he was traveling to Virginia City, Nevada to prospect for silver. He was traveling along with Edward Clapper and a Mr. Wyatt (whose given name has been reported at different times as Americus, Lemericus, LeMarcus and LeMarkus). Clapper also was killed in the same incident, while Wyatt escaped. The circumstances surrounding his death remain mysterious. According to Wyatt, Lassen and Clapper were shot by an unseen sniper while at camp.

At the time, the culprits were considered to be Northern Paiute, who were then in a state of unrest. However, Wyatt himself, the Pit River Indians and disgruntled emigrants who followed the Lassen trail also have been suspected of the crime. In particular, an investigation at the time determined that none of the supplies of Lassen, Clapper, or Wyatt had been taken. In the perception of the investigator, Major F. Dodge, leaving the supplies behind would not have been normal conduct of a Native American raiding party at that time and, as a result, it was widely suspected that the murders were committed by a white man.

The remains of both Lassen and Clapper were buried where they died by a party from Honey Lake Valley shortly after the murders. Peter Lassen's remains were retrieved by a party of Free Masons (U. Johnson Tutt, Antone Storff and Joe Kitts) in November of 1859 and reburied near Susanville on November 27, 1859. He was buried beneath the branches of the majestic Ponderosa pine tree where he camped on the first night that he stayed in the Honey Lake Valley. The Territorial Enterprise reported: “The remains of Peter Lassen, the old pioneer, were buried with Masonic honors, Sunday November 27th on his own ranch at Honey Lake. The attendance upon that occasion, was a very large one for the place.” On June 14, 1862, the local Masonic Lodge placed a ten-foot tall stone marker on Lassen’s grave. By the early 1900s, a portion of that monument had deteriorated. In 1917, after a year-and-a-half-long campaign to raise funds, a new Lassen monument was erected next to the old one. In the 1920s, a movement was begun to purchase the burial property and establish it as a public monument. On April 23, 1952, Hannah F. Hulsman deeded the plot to the Native Daughters of the Golden West, Susanville Parlor No. 243, which later donated it to the Masonic Lodge.

On Sunday, September 10, 1961, the mammoth Ponderosa pine tree that marked Lassen's burial site was felled. The tree had been deemed a potential hazard to visitors and to the monuments. The 164 foot tree measured nine feet in diameter and 27.3 feet in circumference at the butt. It was estimated that the tree was 600 years old and it was the oldest and largest Ponderosa pine in the United States. A section of tree was shipped to the University of Arizona for studies and another section placed at the museum in Susanville.

Although the 1859 public decried the fact that Clapper's remains were left at the site, no one ever returned to retrieve them. Over time, the location of the site was lost. In May 1990, recreationists discovered Clapper's remains eroding out of the stream bed adjacent to the large boulder. Clapper was reburied adjacent to the Lassen Monument in 1992. Several theories about the murder have been proposed but the identity and motive of the assailant(s) remain a mystery.

Besides the Peter Lassen and Edward Clapper burials, a few other individuals were buried at the site.

This page was revised last on Monday, December 12, 2011 11:28 .

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