KESTERSON LUMBER COMPANY
Klamath County - Worden
February 10, 1917: "That the Neuhart sawmill near Dorris, which has remained idle for the past two years, will be operated this season, was made known here today when it was announced that I. E. Kesterson of Grants Pass had practically completed arrangements for taking over the plant.
The mill is located near the California line between Worden and Dorris, Cal. It is situated conveniently for logging and shipping operations, and lies adjacent to a fine body of timber. The mill has a daily capacity of about 30,000 feet.
Kesterson is a practical lumber man, and is interested with his father in several other sawmills. The new box factories starting here this year will demand the operation of all the sawmills of the county to supply with lower grades of lumber unless it is shipped in from California." (Sacramento Daily Union)
The mill is located near the California line between Worden and Dorris, Cal. It is situated conveniently for logging and shipping operations, and lies adjacent to a fine body of timber. The mill has a daily capacity of about 30,000 feet.
Kesterson is a practical lumber man, and is interested with his father in several other sawmills. The new box factories starting here this year will demand the operation of all the sawmills of the county to supply with lower grades of lumber unless it is shipped in from California." (Sacramento Daily Union)
April 18, 1917: "The North and Newhart mill, near Worden, south of Klamath Falls, has been leased to Irving E. Kesterson of Grants Pass, and it will begin operations soon." (The Evening Herald)
September 17, 1920: "Word was received here at 3 o'clock this afternoon that the Kesterson mill, lumber yards and bunk houses were on fire and that the flames had such headway that there was no prospect of controlling them.
The mill caught fire from the incinerator, an open type.
If the entire Kesterson plant is destroyed it will probably mean a loss of close to $250,000. The Jas. H. Driscoll company of this city carries $129,000 insurance on the property, and it is believed there may be other insurance.
Phone lines to the plant are out, but the Gordon ranch near the mill reported at 3:15 that the flames were leaping high from burning piles and it looked like a total loss.
The fire burned the transmission line of the California Oregon Power company and local lumber plants were shut down this afternoon on account of lack of power. The power company sent a crew to build a temporary line around the fire area." (The Evening Herald)
The mill caught fire from the incinerator, an open type.
If the entire Kesterson plant is destroyed it will probably mean a loss of close to $250,000. The Jas. H. Driscoll company of this city carries $129,000 insurance on the property, and it is believed there may be other insurance.
Phone lines to the plant are out, but the Gordon ranch near the mill reported at 3:15 that the flames were leaping high from burning piles and it looked like a total loss.
The fire burned the transmission line of the California Oregon Power company and local lumber plants were shut down this afternoon on account of lack of power. The power company sent a crew to build a temporary line around the fire area." (The Evening Herald)
September 18, 1920: "I. E. Kesterson, owner of the Kesterson Lumber company's plant, which was practically wiped out by yesterday's fire, today authorized the statement to the Herald that the fire was caused by sparks from the broken wire of the California-Oregon Power company, when the high power line was blown down by the gale and fell across the lumber piles and mill. The fire, said the statement, originated in a lumber pile.
J. C. Thompson, manager of the California-Oregon Power company, declared today that the chance that the fire could have been caused by the broken wire was so small as to be negligible. When the high line goes down he says it instantaneously and automatically cuts off the current in the power house and the entire wire becomes dead. The line, he said, went down when the fire burned through a supporting tower on the edge of the yards, and reports to his office caused him still to hold the theory that the blaze started with sparks from the incinerator.
It was a disastrous conflagration that swept the plant out of existence in short order.
The garage that houses the logging trucks, all trucks and logging equipment, seven cottages and an equal number of bunkhouses were saved.
The mill valued at about $75,000, lumber worth about $150,000, I. E. Kesterson's home and private garage, eight workers' cottages, seven bunk houses, 90,000 feet of logs, two large water towers and the lighting plant were completely wiped out.
So fast did the flames consume the buildings that only three families saved their belongings from the cottages.
Three flat cars and one box car, loaded in the yards, were burned. The boarding house and office went with the rest.
Mr. Kesterson carried $129,000 insurance on the lumber, and additional insurance on the plant amounting in all to about $160,000.
The value of property destroyed will easily total $250,000, it is estimated. J. H. Driscoll, whose agency carried insurance on the plant, left this morning for Ivan to make an investigation and inventory the loss.
A repair crew of 11 men worked all night on the power line, and local mills and box factories resumed work this morning. All large plants were without power yesterday afternoon after the fire. The city circuit was supplied from the Keno plant and there was no interruption in shops or city lighting.
Mr. Thompson said that the California-Oregon Power company had warned the Kesterson company against piling lumber beneath the power line. The power company, he said, had a right of way through the yards. The orders against piling lumber were issued, he said, both from the offices of the Yreka division by Manager O. G. Steele and from the local office by George J. Walton, former ,manager." (The Evening Herald)
J. C. Thompson, manager of the California-Oregon Power company, declared today that the chance that the fire could have been caused by the broken wire was so small as to be negligible. When the high line goes down he says it instantaneously and automatically cuts off the current in the power house and the entire wire becomes dead. The line, he said, went down when the fire burned through a supporting tower on the edge of the yards, and reports to his office caused him still to hold the theory that the blaze started with sparks from the incinerator.
It was a disastrous conflagration that swept the plant out of existence in short order.
The garage that houses the logging trucks, all trucks and logging equipment, seven cottages and an equal number of bunkhouses were saved.
The mill valued at about $75,000, lumber worth about $150,000, I. E. Kesterson's home and private garage, eight workers' cottages, seven bunk houses, 90,000 feet of logs, two large water towers and the lighting plant were completely wiped out.
So fast did the flames consume the buildings that only three families saved their belongings from the cottages.
Three flat cars and one box car, loaded in the yards, were burned. The boarding house and office went with the rest.
Mr. Kesterson carried $129,000 insurance on the lumber, and additional insurance on the plant amounting in all to about $160,000.
The value of property destroyed will easily total $250,000, it is estimated. J. H. Driscoll, whose agency carried insurance on the plant, left this morning for Ivan to make an investigation and inventory the loss.
A repair crew of 11 men worked all night on the power line, and local mills and box factories resumed work this morning. All large plants were without power yesterday afternoon after the fire. The city circuit was supplied from the Keno plant and there was no interruption in shops or city lighting.
Mr. Thompson said that the California-Oregon Power company had warned the Kesterson company against piling lumber beneath the power line. The power company, he said, had a right of way through the yards. The orders against piling lumber were issued, he said, both from the offices of the Yreka division by Manager O. G. Steele and from the local office by George J. Walton, former ,manager." (The Evening Herald)
September 30, 1920: "The adjustment of the loss caused by the destructive fire that wiped out the Kesterson sawmill at Ivan has been completed and the adjuster, E. R. Smith, has returned to headquarters. The insurance carried totaled $189,000 and the full amount was allowed. All of the insurance was placed by the J. H. Driscoll agency. The loss in excess of the insurance will be close to $100,000. In this connection I. E. Kesterson today said:
'The adjustment of our loss was so satisfactorily handled and the business closed so quickly that we feel a word of appreciation is due J. H. Driscoll, whose energy has resulted in getting the matter closed up and put us in a position to go right ahead with our plans. While our loss was a heavy one and came so suddenly as to almost stun a person, the prompt adjustment helped to mitigate it to a great extent and we certainly feel very much gratified over it." (The Evening Herald)
'The adjustment of our loss was so satisfactorily handled and the business closed so quickly that we feel a word of appreciation is due J. H. Driscoll, whose energy has resulted in getting the matter closed up and put us in a position to go right ahead with our plans. While our loss was a heavy one and came so suddenly as to almost stun a person, the prompt adjustment helped to mitigate it to a great extent and we certainly feel very much gratified over it." (The Evening Herald)
March 31, 1921: "The California-Oregon Power company has been made the defendant in another big damage suit, as the result of the fire last September which destroyed the I. E. Kesterson mill near Worden. This suit was filed by the I. E. Kesterson Mill company and several insurance companies, the total amount of the suit being $157,175.13.
According to the complaint, I. E. Kesterson insured his mill and lumber for $89,350, and was paid $83,628.59 when the insurance was adjusted. The total value of the property destroyed, the complaint states, was $157,175.13, and he claims damages for the difference in these amounts, or $73,564.54. The insurance companies pray for the remainder of the huge sum mentioned in the complaint.
Negligence by the power company, in stringing its lines, is the basis of the complaint, it being alleged that defective wires fell upon lumber piles causing the fire." (The Evening Herald)
According to the complaint, I. E. Kesterson insured his mill and lumber for $89,350, and was paid $83,628.59 when the insurance was adjusted. The total value of the property destroyed, the complaint states, was $157,175.13, and he claims damages for the difference in these amounts, or $73,564.54. The insurance companies pray for the remainder of the huge sum mentioned in the complaint.
Negligence by the power company, in stringing its lines, is the basis of the complaint, it being alleged that defective wires fell upon lumber piles causing the fire." (The Evening Herald)