 The Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong is nearby, having opened in 2001

The prisons and their effects on the community, including the provision of much-needed jobs, were explored in the documentary, "Prison Town, USA" (2007), aired on PBS.Nearly half the adult population of Susanville works at the three prisons in the area, where 6,000 people are incarcerated.It was originally known as Rooptown until 1857, named for Isaac Roop, a pioneer of the Honey Lake District.