Nearly since time immemorial Susanville boosters grappled with the town’s population figures. This became quite problematic when the town incorporated in 1900, due to its small boundaries. At that time the western boundary was Inspiration Point, Piute Creek to the north, Susan River to the south and Weatherlow Street was the town’s eastern boundary.
One of the issues the City of Susanville grappled since it was incorporated was its population. To lure business and families, the larger number of inhabitants was an enticing inducement, and still is to this day. After the lumber mills arrived by the early 1920s, there were numerous subdivisions to the east of the City. The City tried its darndest to annex, but large property owners like the Red River Lumber Company which owned the Milwood Tract was a force to be reckoned with and defeated many annexation measures. All the Susanville boosters could do, is at least advertise a Greater Susanville. It should be duly it would take nearly a half of a century before City was able to annex adjoining properties.
However, this concept was not limited to any certain era. For instance in the 1990s, when the City annexed the State Prisons, those incarcerated became city residents. Those 8,000 inmates were reflected on the City Limit signs noting it now had a population of 17,000. As one city official informed me at the time to include the inmate population in the sign, was for marketing purposes hoping to influence more businesses and perspective residents to take a second a look.