W. P. JOHNSON LUMBER COMPANY
Douglas County - Myrtle Creek
July 21, 1902: "W. P. Johnson, the promoter of the big new lumbering enterprise at Myrtle Creek, spent Saturday in Roseburg. He informed us that he was meeting with much encouragement in his enterprise at Myrtle Creek. The people of that place have granted him a sawmill site and rights of way for his logging railways. He now expects to begin work at once on the erection of a sawmill with a capacity of 100,000 feet of lumber per day. The plant will also include shingle mills with a daily output of 100,000. The rights of way are given for a standard gauge railway up north Myrtle Creek, a distance of 15 or 20 miles, reaching one of the finest bodies of timber in the state. The concessions on South Myrtle Creek provides also for the floating and booming of logs and timber. Options have already been secured on 35,000 acres of timber land in that district, providing an inexhaustible supply for a great many years to come. Mr. Johnson expects to have his mills ready to begin operations in about 90 days, as the equipment is now ready and only awaits his orders to be shipped from the east. He likewise has the rails for his proposed railroad." (The Plaindealer)
September 20, 1902: “William P. Johnson of Richmond, Va., who has been at Myrtle Creek with the object of establishing a milling and lumbering enterprise, is in Glendale this week to ascertain the practicability of building a railroad up Cow creek for the purpose of conveying lumber to the railroad at Glendale.” (Glendale News)
October 20, 1902: "The machinery for W. P. Johnston's sawmill to be placed on the south Myrtle arrived here Saturday. Teams are being engaged to haul it to place where timber will be cut out for the fluming of South creek about six miles from the Umpqua. This is a great undertaking, and is estimated will cost $18,000, after the mill is in operation. Mr. Johnston has the best wishes of all progressive and right thinking business men of this community and will create a much needed pay-roll, that is the only means of stimulating business enterprise and ambition. This will, also tend to increase values of land and produce. At present he is in want of a number of good men." (Roseburg Plaindealer)
October 25, 1902: “Mr. W. P. Johnson, the Myrtle Creek sawmill man, stated to a Review representative that he is expecting the arrival this week of a plant for his first sawmill to be erected at the Ike Weaver place on South Myrtle. The mill will have a capacity of about 40,000 feet of lumber per day, and will be operated by steam, the plant including a 90 horse power boiler and 75 horse power engine. This mill is expected to be ready for operations by Dec. 1st. It will be used for sawing the lumber necessary for the big flume along Myrtle Creek and for the big sawmill, etc., at the town of Myrtle Creek. It will afterwards be maintained for sawing long timbers and other special uses.---Roseburg Review.” (Glendale News)
January 30, 1903: “W. P. Johnson made his first run of logs on South Myrtle creek Friday. Near 1200 pieces were put into the stream and about 1000 floated all the way down to his boom without and further effort. None at all were lost, which is very gratifying for his first attempt in Pacific Coast streams. Mr. Johnson's electric light plant is now on the ground at his mill on South Myrtle and will soon be in operation.---Review.” (Glendale News)
March 6, 1903: “Articles of incorporation were filed with the county clerk today by the Wm. P. Johnson Lumber Co., of Myrtle Creek, Oregon. The capital stock is fixed at $300,000 and the incorporators are Wm. P. Johnson, Adam E. Shiria and Marcus W. Bates. Mr. Johnson has been operating on Myrtle Creek for a number of months past and the other two gentlemen are men of ample means who recently came here from the east. The purpose of the company is to do a general saw milling, lumbering and manufacturing business. Mr. Johnson's first mill is now in steady operation, sawing from 30,000 to 40,000 feet of lumber per day. Other mills are soon to be erected and planing mills, box factory. Etc., are to be added later.---Review.” (Glendale News)
February 6, 1903: “About two weeks ago W. P. Johnson on South Myrtle Creek used about $50 worth of powder to break a jam of logs. The explosion did its work, scattering the logs and damaging many of them.” (Glendale News)
March 14, 1903: "James Dick, a log driver for the W. P. Johnson Lumber Company, at Myrtle Creek, was drowned Thursday morning at 8 o'clock, while in the act of breaking a log jam. Mr. Dick, who formerly resided in Pennsylvania, was unmarried, and had a brother, John Dick, who operates a farm near Myrtle Creek.---Roseburg Review." (Statesman Journal)
May 8, 1903: “W. P. Johnson tells the Mail that he has sold his lumber company or a controlling interest therein to Messrs. Palmer and Rose of Iowa; and that his connection with the company is soon to be at an end. He will remain here only long enough to allow the new management to get the run of things. Mr. Johnson's only remaining interests here are the Overland hotel property which is for sale. Just what will be done with the mills and material of the old lumber company remains to be seen. The probability is, however, that work will be shut down. In fact operations have already stopped. Mr. Johnson and family will leave here about the last of June.---Myrtle Creek Mail.”
“Mr. Johnson was in Roseburg today and verifies the principal features of the above report. An agreement has been reached and he expects to soon retire from the lumber company which he recently established. The new proprietors are said to be men of large capital, who expect to push the business right along, with increased activity. Mr. Johnson has gained many friends in this county who will regret his departure.---Roseburg Review.”
"Mr. Johnson has not yet made public his future intentions, but the presumption is that he will assist his brother Curtis in his gigantic lumbering project at Glendale.” (The Glendale News)
“Mr. Johnson was in Roseburg today and verifies the principal features of the above report. An agreement has been reached and he expects to soon retire from the lumber company which he recently established. The new proprietors are said to be men of large capital, who expect to push the business right along, with increased activity. Mr. Johnson has gained many friends in this county who will regret his departure.---Roseburg Review.”
"Mr. Johnson has not yet made public his future intentions, but the presumption is that he will assist his brother Curtis in his gigantic lumbering project at Glendale.” (The Glendale News)
July 10, 1903: “WANTED 50 men to work in the woods, on flume and in the mill, at Myrtle Creek, Oregon. William P. Johnson Lumber Co.” (The Glendale News)
October 9, 1903: “The Wm. P. Johnson Lumber Co. of Myrtle Creek, which has just completed a 6-mile flume at a cost of $25,000, concludes a letter to the News this week as follows: 'You may continue our 'want' ad in your paper until further orders. We have good results from our advertising in your paper, and keep three crews all the time---one at work, one coming and one going---so you see we need plenty of men. We are getting along as well as could be expected, and have the big flume completed and are shipping lumber.” (The Glendale News)
December 25, 1903: “The Wm. P. Johnson Lbr. Co. held a special business meeting on Tuesday evening. The different right-of-way troubles were adjusted and it was decided to begin building the railroad spur just as soon as it is learned the kind of grade the S. P. Co. want. The $2000 necessary for the work has been secured, and the spur will be built.---Myrtle Creek Mail.” (The Glendale News)
January 9, 1904: “The W. P. Johnson Lumber Co. will begin work on their railroad spur, next Monday, Jan. 18th.” (Roseburg Review)
January 15, 1904: “The Wm. P. Johnson Lumber Company has its lumber dryer running both night and day. At present it contains over 25,000 feet of the best grade of flooring and siding which it is expected will be thoroughly dried the latter part of this week.”
“The work of surveying and laying out the spur of the railroad from the Southern Pacific's main track to the lumber docks of Wm. P. Johnson Lumber Co. has been accomplished, and the construction work is soon to begin. The spur leaves the track just north of the Myrtle Creek bridge, and follows the bend of the creek, crosses Main street at First street, and then goes to the docks.---The Mail.” (Roseburg Review)
“The work of surveying and laying out the spur of the railroad from the Southern Pacific's main track to the lumber docks of Wm. P. Johnson Lumber Co. has been accomplished, and the construction work is soon to begin. The spur leaves the track just north of the Myrtle Creek bridge, and follows the bend of the creek, crosses Main street at First street, and then goes to the docks.---The Mail.” (Roseburg Review)
January 28, 1904: "W. P. Johnson, the Myrtle Creek sawmill man, was in Roseburg today. Operations at the mill are suspended just at present, but final arrangements for putting in the new railway spur track to the yards have just been completed and everything will be in shape for a good season's run." (Roseburg Review)
February 26, 1904: “Regarding the shut-down of W. P. Johnson Lumber Co.'s mill here, Mr. Johnson made a statement to the Mail reporter that his company had failed to carry out the original plans of the enterprise, for reasons that have been given heretofore, but that the company is on strong financial basis, and perfectly solvent. About fifty men have been thrown out of employment and a monthly pay roll of $4000 curtailed. The company will employ only enough men to run its drying plant. Robert Johnson will look out for the company's interests up the creek during the shutdown. Miss Minnie Johnson, secretary of the company, and Curtis Johnson will have charge of the business end while W. P. Johnson is away in the east.---Mail.” (The Glendale News)
February 26, 1904: “D. C. Pitzer, foreman of the dry kiln of the Johnson Lumber Co. at Myrtle Creek, is in Roseburg for a few days on business. He says the company has now on hand about 500,000 feet of lumber and as soon as this is sold the company will cease operations temporarily.” (Roseburg Review)
July 14, 1904: "It is stated that the William P. Johnson Lumber company, located at Myrtle Creek, will begin operations as soon as a full crew of men can be secured to start the mill. The mill is one of the largest in the county and was closed down on account of the high rates on lumber by the Southern Pacific railroad. In conversation with Myrtle Creek parties, we have been unable to verify this report, although such rumors are rife." (Roseburg Plaindealer)
July 21, 1904: "W. P. Johnson, the Myrtle Creek lumberman, was transacting business in Roseburg Tuesday. He neither denies or affirms the report that he is soon to start up his big mill." (Roseburg Plaindealer)
October 28, 1904: “The W. P. Johnson Lumber company installed a boarding house at the sawmill near the head of the flume this week.” (The Glendale News)
October 28, 1904: “Wm. P. Johnson Lumber company is shipping lumber to Roseburg for the construction of the broom factory and Elk's temple which will be built soon.” (The Glendale News)
March 23, 1905: "Fred Fisher, foreman of the Wm. P. Johnson Lumber Co. of Myrtle Creek and Roseburg, was in this city on business this week." (Roseburg Plaindealer)
May 15, 1905: "The W. P. Johnson mill at Myrtle Creek is kept busy supplying lumber for the Roseburg yard and the local trade." (Roseburg Plaindealer)