In 1875, Lafayette D. McDow constructed a house on what would later become of the southwest corner of Main and McDow Streets. McDow came to Lassen County in the 1860s, where he spent much of his time either operating a sawmill or mining on Diamond Mountain.
In 1920, McDow’s son, George and Russell Brownell subdivided property in the eastern portion of Susanville to be known as the Milwood Tract. On June 28, 1928, the old McDow home was destroyed by fire, then occupied by the family of J.A. Metz. For Metz, the house was convenient, as he worked as the janitor of the nearby Lincoln School.