REEDSPORT LUMBER COMPANY
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Douglas County - Reedsport
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August 25, 1917: "It will give considerable satisfaction to the majority of the people of the lower Umpqua country to learn beyond a doubt that a new sawmill will be built at Reedsport within the next three months and if all plans do not fail the mill may be in active operation before that time. The company has been organized and will be known as the Reedsport Lumber Company, with its principal place of business at Reedsport, Ore. The company is composed of local and outside people, and A. B. Loud, of Marshfield, will be the general manager.
The driving of piling for the foundation for the mill will begin as soon as the piledriver can be gotten on the ground, the company having secured the Gardiner Mill Company piledriver for this work. Part of the machinery for the mill will be moved up from Coos County from a couple of mills which are not operation in that county. Larger boilers than were at first contemplated will be placed in position, so that in case of necessity more power can be had and the capacity of the mill increased, which at present will be 60,000 feet daily.
The mill will be situated northwest from the passenger depot at Reedsport, near the river, and convenient with the railroad, an admirable location for a mill of this character. In all probability it will only be a short time before the capacity of the mill will be increased and a box and other factories added.
It is expected that logging operations will begin in a short time, as the company has secured a large tract of timber to begin operations, upon, the greater part being spruce. The local demand for lumber in the lower Umpqua Valley is considerable of an item itself, and since the mill of the Gardiner Mill Company burned down it has been a difficult matter to get lumber from outside to meet this demand.. The citizens of Reedsport and the surrounding country are jubilant over the prospects of having a mill at that town, and feel that it is a precursor to more mills and manufacturing plants for that place.
As soon as lumber can be had several new and substantial buildings will be erected in the town, which already has an air of prosperity, and which is being substantially increased over the near prospects of manufacturing establishments being established there. The building of this mill will be the means of encouraging other manufacturing plants which are now contemplated, such as the pulp mills and shipyards, the latter of which will in all probability be in operation by the beginning of the new year.
At last it begins to have a very tangible appearance as if Reedsport is coming into her own and will in the near future be one of the best towns on the coast." (Port Umpqua Courier)
The driving of piling for the foundation for the mill will begin as soon as the piledriver can be gotten on the ground, the company having secured the Gardiner Mill Company piledriver for this work. Part of the machinery for the mill will be moved up from Coos County from a couple of mills which are not operation in that county. Larger boilers than were at first contemplated will be placed in position, so that in case of necessity more power can be had and the capacity of the mill increased, which at present will be 60,000 feet daily.
The mill will be situated northwest from the passenger depot at Reedsport, near the river, and convenient with the railroad, an admirable location for a mill of this character. In all probability it will only be a short time before the capacity of the mill will be increased and a box and other factories added.
It is expected that logging operations will begin in a short time, as the company has secured a large tract of timber to begin operations, upon, the greater part being spruce. The local demand for lumber in the lower Umpqua Valley is considerable of an item itself, and since the mill of the Gardiner Mill Company burned down it has been a difficult matter to get lumber from outside to meet this demand.. The citizens of Reedsport and the surrounding country are jubilant over the prospects of having a mill at that town, and feel that it is a precursor to more mills and manufacturing plants for that place.
As soon as lumber can be had several new and substantial buildings will be erected in the town, which already has an air of prosperity, and which is being substantially increased over the near prospects of manufacturing establishments being established there. The building of this mill will be the means of encouraging other manufacturing plants which are now contemplated, such as the pulp mills and shipyards, the latter of which will in all probability be in operation by the beginning of the new year.
At last it begins to have a very tangible appearance as if Reedsport is coming into her own and will in the near future be one of the best towns on the coast." (Port Umpqua Courier)
August 27, 1917: "A. B. Loud and Chas. Lyons went to Reedsport today to start the driving of pilings at the new Reedsport sawmill in which Mr. Loud and others are interested. About 150 pilings for the building are to be put in." (The World)
December 10, 1917: "Reedsport Lumber company placing machinery in new sawmill and expect to be cutting within 60 days." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)
July 27, 1918: "The Reedsport sawmill, owned by R. W. Morrow, A. B. Loud and E. Omer, of Marshfield, was purchased today by L. I. Jones, of Cottage Grove, and R. A. Annin, of Myrtle Point. The mill has been involved in a controversy between the Marshfield owners, but differences were settled before the deal was made. The mill has a capacity of 50,000 feet daily and was started during the Spring of 1918." (Morning Oregonian)
January 25, 1920: "The Reedsport Lumber Co. has finished building their large loading dock. The dock is over 400 feet long and 30 feet in width and so built and located that seven cars can be loaded from it at one time should it become necessary, which will often be the case during the coming year, In addition to the new dock it is connected with the old loading dock, which is about 350 by 15 feet." (Lumber World Review)
March 18, 1920: "Runners are being made for a large donkey engine at the yards of the Reedsport Lumber Co. Each runner is 63 feet in length and about five feet in diameter. The timber was brought from the tract recently bought by the Reedsport Lumber Co. near Slemmons Slough. It is estimated that each stick being used would make 5000 feet of clear lumber. How much would that be worth?" (Roseburg Review)
July 7, 1923: "Reedsport.----The Reedsport Lumber company will install a new log carriage and connect a new boiler during the week beginning July 4, during which time the mill will be closed down. The boiler will increase the mill's capacity from 10,000 to 15,000 feet daily." (The Advocate)
November 1923: "J. W. Mackintosh, president and general manager of the Reedsport Lumber Co., Reedsport, Ore., has recovered from a surgical operation at a Portland hospital and has returned to his duties." (The Timberman, Vol. XXV)
March 4, 1949: "A new compressor has been installed at the Reedsport Lumber Company sawmill in Reedsport, and will be put into operation as soon as the manufacturer's representative arrives to inspect the installation and approve it. This is the third compressor for this mill, the breaking down of the second one having closed the mill down about a week ago. The company hopes to resume operations very shortly. At present lumber from the mill is being moved to the Port dock by carrier for water shipment. The mill is operated by Charles and Clarence Manschreck, brothers." (The News-Review)
January 14, 1956: "The sawmill department of the Reedsport Lumber Co. shut down Friday and laid off 25 men because of a shortage of logs.
Tom Link, general manager of the plant, now in process of changing ownership, stated that 'About enough logs are left to operate the sawmill for about a week but they are not available just now.'
He said that the shutdown of the sawmill would continue until the logs could be available. The mill would then operate for a week, following which it would discontinue.
He said that the plans of the new owners, Campbell & McLean, plywood plant operators of Eugene and Gold Beach, do not include dismantling the sawmill and planer, as reported in another newspaper. He stated that they would be kept intact on the assumption that they would operate as a unit in the future after plant expansion plans mature.
The layoff of the 25 sawmill workers out of the payroll of 52 men in the combined sawmill and planer operation occurred within hours of a locally published announcement that the mill would continue operating for several months pending plans of the new owners for expanded mill construction.
Link stated that the employes had been kept informed of developments.
The retiring owners are Ray Schaecher and M.Kux of Eugene.
The company operated on a double shift basis for several months, cutting a contract of timber purchased from the Doernbecher Furniture Co. During recent weeks it has operated single shift with 52 employes.
Mill site leases have been taken, expanding the mill property on the Scofield River on the edge of Reedsport, on which indefinite plans, Link stated, are to include a plywood plant. Link said he has been asked by the new owners to stay on as manager." (The World)
Tom Link, general manager of the plant, now in process of changing ownership, stated that 'About enough logs are left to operate the sawmill for about a week but they are not available just now.'
He said that the shutdown of the sawmill would continue until the logs could be available. The mill would then operate for a week, following which it would discontinue.
He said that the plans of the new owners, Campbell & McLean, plywood plant operators of Eugene and Gold Beach, do not include dismantling the sawmill and planer, as reported in another newspaper. He stated that they would be kept intact on the assumption that they would operate as a unit in the future after plant expansion plans mature.
The layoff of the 25 sawmill workers out of the payroll of 52 men in the combined sawmill and planer operation occurred within hours of a locally published announcement that the mill would continue operating for several months pending plans of the new owners for expanded mill construction.
Link stated that the employes had been kept informed of developments.
The retiring owners are Ray Schaecher and M.Kux of Eugene.
The company operated on a double shift basis for several months, cutting a contract of timber purchased from the Doernbecher Furniture Co. During recent weeks it has operated single shift with 52 employes.
Mill site leases have been taken, expanding the mill property on the Scofield River on the edge of Reedsport, on which indefinite plans, Link stated, are to include a plywood plant. Link said he has been asked by the new owners to stay on as manager." (The World)