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"History of Northern Wisconsin, 1881"

The Lumber Yards

(-as transcribed from pages 305 - 306)

These extensive yards for piling lumber were laid out by George C. Davis, the present superintendent, on the 14th of June, 1879. There are twenty-five acres with nineteen cross alleys. Mr. Davis employs seventy men and twenty-one teams, and ships by rail 2,5000,000 feet of lumber a month. A good idea of how much 1,000,000 feet of lumber is may be realized when it is stated that if piled twenty feet high an acre holds 1,000,000 feet, so the capacity of these yards is 25,000,000 feet.

Empire Lumber Company. -- On March 26, 1881, the firms of Ingram, Kennedy & Co., Eau Claire, Wis., Charles Horton Lumber Company, Winona, Minn., and Dulany & McVeigh, Hannibal, Mo., became incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin under the name and style of Empire Lumber Company, succeeding to the business of above-mentioned firms, receiving all assets and assuming all liabilities. Officers: 0. H. Ingram, president, Eau Claire, Wis.; D. M. Dulany, vice-president, Hannibal, Mo.; W. H. Dulany, treasurer, Hannibal, Mo.; Charles Horton, secretary, Winona, Minn.; C. A. Chamberlin, assistant secretary, Eau Claire, Wis. Directors: O. H. Ingram, W. P. Tearse, Eau Claire, Wis.; Charles Horton, Roscoe Horton, Winona, Minn.; D. M. Dulany, J. H. McVeigh, G. W. Dulany, Hannibal, Mo. This company has three mills, the "big mill," the "' little mill " in the Fourth Ward, and the " Eddy Mill," in the First. The combined capacity of these mills is 250,000 feet in eleven hours. The actual cut for 1881 will be about 50,000,000. Two hundred men on an average are employed. The company also operate and stock the Dells Lumber Company's mills, and have a general merchandise store on Water street, under the management of H. B. McMaster.

The Valley Lumber Company succeeded Smith & Buffington. It was incorporated March 5, 1872, with a capital of $250,000, but was not organized until July 10, 1874. The present officers are: William Carson, president and treasurer; G. A. Buffington, vice-president; W. H. Smith, of Eau Galle, secretary. E. D. Rand, of Burlington, and C. M. Smith, of Chicago, are also directors.

Daniel Shaw Lumber Company. -- This company was incorporated in 1874, and succeeded Daniel Shaw & Co. On the site of the present establishment, Daniel Shaw and Charles A. Bullen erected a mill in 1857, beginning operations in the Fall. In August, 1867, the mill was burned, but was rebuilt, enlarged and improved the same year. The present capacity of the mill is 150,000,000 a year; shingles, 40,000,000; lath, the same. Employ 200 men as an average. The capital is $500,000. Officers: D. Shaw, president; C. A. Bullen, vice-president; C. S. Newell, treasurer. G. B. Shaw, secretary. In 1881, will cut 25,000,000 lumber. The company also owns and operates the Crescent Mill, a roller flouring mill, with a capacity of 125 barrels a day.

Crescent Roller Mills & Elevator

Badger State Lumber Company. -- This company has a nominal capital of $180,000, but actually employs more than $300,000. The stockholders are: W. A. Woodward, Orange County, N. Y.; F. W. Woodward, W. A. Rust, Eau Claire; S. W. Chinn, Badger Mills; Alfred Toll, John Aire and Joseph Rowe, Hannibal, Mo.; G. T. Hoagland, St. Joseph, Mo. The mill cuts about 12,000,000 a year, and purchases as much more. About 150 men are employed in the business. The company owns and operates what was formerly called the Blue Mill, which is spoken of in the early history of the valley. It is now the Badger State Mill.

The Beef Slough Manufacturing, Boom, Log-driving and Transportation Company. -- This company was organized under the general laws of Wisconsin. The stockholders are Moses M. Davis, Appleton, Wis.; James H. Bacon, Ypsilanti, Mich.; Elijah Swift, Falmouth, Mass.; C. Moser, Jr., John Hunner, Jr., Frederick Lane, Alma, Wis. Capital $100,000, limited. $300,000, however, are used in the business. From 600 to 700 men are employed in the running season. The disbursements are between $150,000 and $100,000 a year. It handles $300,000,000 logs a year; has never manufactured lumber, as their charter authorizes.

The Chippewa River Improvement and Log-driving Company. -- This company was organized February 1, 1876. The patent from the State is dated July 8, 1876. The incorporators were F. Weyerhauser, of Rock Island, Ill.; Chancy Lamb, Clinton, Iowa; William J. Young, Clinton, Iowa; Earle S. Yeomans, Winona, Minn. The capital stock of the company has been reduced to $125,000, all paid in. The company has built a dam on the east fork of the Chippewa, a large dam on the main river at little south fork of the Flambeau, two dams on Elk River, and have deepened the main channel at various points, and on the east and west forks of the same on Elk River, and north and south forks of the Flambeau. The company disburses $100,000 a year. The present directors and officers of the company are M. J. Young, president; Art. Lamb, vice-president; F. Weyerhauser, D. R. Moon, 0. H. Ingram; Th. Erwin, secretary and treasurer; D. P. Simons, manager and assistant treasurer.

C. L. Coleman's Mill. -- The saw-mill of Mr. Coleman was destroyed by fire in 1875, and rebuilt and in operation in January, 1876. The main building is 155x60 feet, consisting of two stories. Fifty-five cords of stone were used in the construction of the foundation for, the gang saw. There are six boilers. The cylinder of the engine is thirty inches by thirty. The smoke-stack is 100 feet high. There are two double circular saws, and one 154-inch gang. The logs are handled automatically by appropriate machinery. The shingle mill is 36x36. The establishment is complete in every respect.

Northwestern Lumber Company, successors to Porter, Moon & Co. and S. T. McKnight & Co., incorporated June 26, 1873, with a capital of $300,000, since increased to $443,900. The original proprietors were G. E. Porter, D. R. Moon, S. T. McKnight; present officers, D. R. Moon, president; G. B. Chapman, vice-president; S. T. McKnight, secretary and treasurer. Mr. McKnight resides in Hannibal, Mo., the distributing point of the company. The company has a mill in Wheaton, Chippewa Co., and two in Portersville, town of Brunswick. Their united capacity is 175,000 lumber, 150,000 shingles, 60,000 lath and 1,000 pickets per day of twelve hours. The mills are run from the first of May until some time in November, each year. The company employs 200 men in Wisconsin and 100 in Missouri. The average yearly product is 30,000,000 lumber, 25,000,000 shingles, 10,000,000 lath, and 500,000 pickets. At Portersville there is also a planing and a feed mill, and the company has several general merchandising stores.

Eau Claire Manufacturing Company, instituted in 1880, with a capital of $25,000, A. E. Swift, president, E. N. Wilson, secretary and treasurer, capital now $85,000, will cut 14,000,000 this year, and employ fifty men.

Sherman & Brother. -- Arthur M. and John Sherman were among the 1856-57 settlers. They owned the Eddy mill from 1863 to 1866, when it was sold to Ingram, Kennedy & Co. They then engaged in logging. They then bought into the Boyd mill, which went out with the flood of 1880, landing in a completely demolished condition seven miles down the river. In the Fall of 1880, they began the Sherman mill on Half-moon Lake, which was completed in July, 1881. It is a complete mill, with a 275 Corliss engine and the latest mill machinery. The cut will be 100,000 a day.

In 1880, the amount of lumber cut in the several mills foots up as follows: Lumber, 200,161,650 ; lath, 50,258,000; shingles, 62,000,000; pickets, 1,358,000. Total, 313,777,650.

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