Susanville (formerly known as
Rooptown) is the county seat of
Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the
Susan River in southern part of the county, at an elevation of . The population was 17,974 at the 2010 census, up from 13,541 at the
2000 census. Susanville, a former logging and mining town, is the site of the
High Desert State Prison, California (not to be confused with
High Desert State Prison, Nevada) and
California Correctional Center. High Desert State Prison, a maximum-security facility, opened in 1995; the California Correctional Center, a minimum-medium security facility, opened in 1963. The prisons and their effects on the community were featured on the
PBS documentary,
Prison Town, USA.