Stimson Lumber Company is an American

Forest products A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in for ...

company based in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Founded in 1931, it was started by three partners, including G. W. Stimson of the Stimson family of

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

, responsible for the

Stimson House Stimson House is a Richardsonian Romanesque mansion in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Built in 1891, it was the home of lumber and banking millionaire Thomas Douglas Stimson. During Stimson's lifetime, the house survived a dy ...

Hollywood Farm Hollywood Farm was a 206-acre dairy farm in the Sammamish Valley, approximately 25 miles northeast of Seattle. It was built in 1910 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. With The property is now occupied by the Chateau St ...

, and the Colonnade Hotel.

History

The company traces its history back to 1850 when Thomas Douglas Stimson started logging in Michigan. After moving west to the Pacific Northwest in the 1880s, the family purchased timberlands across the region and established mills and other busiensses in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

area. On May 9, 1931, G. W. Stimson of the lumber family of Washington, attorney Thomas H. Tongue, Jr. (son of Congressman

Thomas H. Tongue Thomas H. Tongue (June 23, 1844January 11, 1903) was an American politician and attorney in the state of Oregon. Born in England, his family immigrated to Washington County, Oregon, in 1859. In Oregon, he would serve in the Oregon State Senate, S ...

), and Harold A. Miller incorporated the busienss in Hillsboro, Oregon. Miller was the son-in-law of Stimson, and a founder of the Western Forestry Center in Portland, as well as onetime owner of the

Schooner Te Vega ''Te Vega'' is a two-masted, gaff-rigged auxiliary schooner. Originally launched as the ''Etak'', she was designed by New York naval architects Cox & Stevens in 1929 for American businessman Walter Graeme Ladd and his wife, Catherine ("Kate") ...

. Miller had been asked by Charles S. Stimson to move to Oregon to head family's business in Oregon. Two years later the company opened a new mill in Forest Grove, which remains in operation. Stimson bought Northwest Petrochemical Company in 1962 in order to use

phenol Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it req ...

in made in manufacturing

hardboard Hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard (HDF), is a type of fiberboard, which is an engineered wood product. It is used in furniture and in the construction industry. Description Hardboard is similar to particle board and medium-densi ...

. In 1976, the company bought a

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

plant in

Merlin, Oregon Merlin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Josephine County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,615. The area is known for sport fishing and whitewater rafting on the Rogue Rive ...

. Longtime leader Miller died in 1981, with Darrell Schroeder becoming the new company exceutive. 1943

In 1987, the company donated the lof used to create the

Chief Kno-Tah ''Chief Kno-Tah'' was a wooden statue located in Shute Park in Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Carved by Peter Wolf Toth, it was the 56th Native American head in his ''Trail of the Whispering Giants'' series. The tall, statue was the f ...

sculpture in

Shute Park Shute Park is a municipal park in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Acquired in 1906, the park is the oldest park in the city. Located at southeast Tenth and Maple streets along Tualatin Valley Highway, Shute Park includes an aquatic ...

in Hillsboro. The company sold a property to

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

in 2008 in the

Chehalem Mountains The Chehalem Mountains are a mountain range located in the Willamette Valley in the U.S. state of Oregon. Forming the southern boundary of the Tualatin Valley, the Chehalems are the highest mountains in the Willamette Valley. The range extends fr ...

that was turned into Chehalem Ridge Nature Park. In 2020, the company's mill at Gaston was fined for air poluition. The Christmas tree for

Pioneer Courthouse Square Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1984, the square is bounded by Southwest Morrison Street on t ...

in Portland is often donated by the company, including in 2021 and 2022.

Operations

The company operates a total of seven mills combined between

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and Oregon. Stimson owns of timberland across three states: Oregon, Idaho, and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. THis makes the company the twentieth largest landowner in the United States.

References

{{reflist, 2 1931 establishments in Oregon Companies based in Washington County, Oregon Forest products companies of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1931 Real estate companies established in 1931 Privately held companies based in Oregon

History

Operations

See also

References