During the 1910s, real estate developers went through a crazy period putting together subdivisions adjacent to Susanville with the anticipation of a major “boom” once the railroad arrived. For a brief time it subsided, but went crazy again when it was announced the Fruit Growers Supply Company was to build a substantial lumber manufacturing adjacent to Susanville.
Enter George McDow, owner of the local title company, Lassen Abstract, and his best friend, Russell Brownell, the latter known for his salesman skills. Having inside knowledge they acquired property on the north side of the Susan River of the proposed Fruit Growers millsite. They created the Milwood Tract subdivision, that adjoined Halltown. This subdivision extended Second, Third and Fourth Streets. It also created the streets of River, Sacramento, Spring, Fairfield, Mesa and Gilman. The developers designated the east end as Milwood Farms. They were made 34 two-acre lots for those who desired extra room to raise chickens, plant gardens and the like. Two streets were created, but never named until later. One became known as Russell Avenue, after Russell Brownell, who died unexpectedly in 1923. The other became Fair Drive, since it would be the main thoroughfare to the fairgrounds that were built in 1922, adjacent to Milwood Farms.
Things did not go according as plan. In September 1922, they sold 260 acres of the tract to the Red River Lumber Company, who bought as speculative property as a future millsite. That transaction had a major impact on the history of Susanville, which we will explore tomorrow.