Westwood, CA

Westwood is a Lassen County census-designated place 20 miles west-southwest of Susanville, at about 5,128 feet between the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges. T.B. Walker built it in 1913 as the operations center for the Red River Lumber Company, with the Fernley and Lassen Railway arriving in the same period. The mill town had its own rail system, shops, stores, schools, and housing; Red River's advertising work also helped turn Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox into enduring Westwood figures. The 2020 census counted 1,541 residents.

Red River's mill closed in 1956, but the old company-town map still shapes Westwood. The Walker family mansion and Paul Bunyan statues remain local landmarks, while the Bizz Johnson Trail follows the former rail right-of-way to Mason Station. The Westwood Community Library and Area Chamber keep present-day community life tied to Birch Street and the old lumber-town core. Forest roads, volcanic slopes, rail history, and the lumber company's oversized folklore give Westwood a strong sense of place even after the mill era ended.