It would take nearly a half century for Susanville, as a municipality, before it was able to expand its boundaries. Of course, politics played a pivotal role and the city’s most formible opponet was the Red River Lumber Company which owned the Milwood Tract east of the city limits.
Annexation efforts tried and failed with Red River’s influence. In the summer of 1928, the residence of J.A. Metz, who lived in the original McDow home in the Milwood Tract was destroyed by fire. Since it was outside the city limits there was no fire protection in Milwood and adjoining subdivisions. The fire prompted a petition drive for annexation. It was met with opposition and they were able to stop the movement in its tracts.
In 1930, an annexation campaign was resurrected. A committee was appointed to investigate the many issues and report back to a public meeting scheduled for March 10. It was decided to take a poll in the Halltown and Milwood Districts to obtain the residents’ pulse on the measure. For the proponents it was not good news. The initial poll showed 156 against annexation to 47 for it. End of discussion and remained that way for nearly a decade.