Kenneth W. Ford (August 4, 1908 – February 8, 1997) was an American businessman and lumber mill owner from

Asotin Asotin is the county seat of the county of the same name, in the state of Washington, United States. The population of the city was 1,251 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The name ...

, Washington, who founded

Roseburg Forest Products Roseburg Forest Products, based in Springfield, Oregon, US is a privately owned wood–products company. Founded in 1936, the company had approximately 3,000 employees and revenues of nearly US$1 billion in 2012. Roseburg Forest Products operates ...

in 1936. In 2017, his family was the 12th largest private landowners in the United States owning 783,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina and Virginia.

Early life

Ford was born in

Asotin, Washington Asotin is the county seat of the county of the same name, in the state of Washington, United States. The population of the city was 1,251 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The name ...

, a small farming community on

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

. His father was a sawmill operator who later moved the family to Lebanon, Oregon. Ford originally wanted to operate a dairy farm but, after working for his father, he decided on the lumber business. He graduated from high school in 1926 and completed a term at Oregon State University. He met Hallie Brown and married her in 1935.
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Career

In 1936, Ford built a sawmill with salvaged equipment in

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is in the Umpqua River, Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon and is the county seat and most populous city of Douglas County, Oregon, Douglas County. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 a ...

. With 25 employees, he established the Roseburg Lumber Company, known today as

. During the first year of production, Roseburg Lumber produced "30,000 board feet of lumber per day" for a small profit. In 1953, Ford recognized the potential of plywood and built many plywood plants. In the 1960s, there was high demand in Japan's paper industry for wood chips leading Ford to build a long-term partnership with the OJI Paper Company of Japan. Ford was known for his philanthropy. In 1957, Kenneth and Hallie Ford established the Ford Family Foundation, one of the largest charitable organizations in Oregon.

Death

Ford died on February 8, 1997, at the age of 88. In 2017, after his family heirs purchased 158,000 acres of timberland in North Carolina and Virginia, the family became the 12th largest private landowners in the United States, owning a total of 783,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina and Virginia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Kenneth W. 1908 births 1997 deaths People from Asotin County, Washington