The U.S. Army established the Spruce Production Division (SPD) on November 17, 1917, seven months after the country entered World War I. Charged with the mission of dramatically increasing the harvest and milling of Sitka spruce for aircraft construction, the SPD coordinated the employment of troops to work in logging camps and sawmills alongside their "civilian" counterparts. By the summer of 1918, the Army decided to administer the production of aircraft lumber more directly and transformed the SPD into a government corporation which managed all aspects of the harvest and distribution of the milled spruce.
Headed by General Brice P. Disque, the SPD succeeded in its goal of boosting production of spruce lumber for the war. Between November 1917 and October 1918, spruce production jumped from 2,887,623 to 22,145,823 board feet monthly. By the end of the war, total production of aircraft lumber had reached 139 million board feet. For Oregon and Washington, the SPD left a huge impact upon the landscape with its construction of 60 temporary camps, roads, bridges, and 130 miles of rail track. Headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, the SPD operated camps and mills in and near a number of communities, including Newport, Toledo, Seaside, Coquille, in Oregon, and Port Angeles, Washington.
The Army dissolved the SPD on November 12, 1918, one day after the armistice was signed between Germany and the allies ending World War I.
An important element in the history of the SPD was the formation of the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen (LLLL). Conceived by General Brice as a response to strikes and work stoppages in the timber industry fomented by the radical union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the LLLL was developed as a union for those employed for the SPD, encompassing both troops and private mill workers. Administered by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the LLLL required a loyalty oath for membership and regarded dissent among workers as wartime acts of treason. This strategy proved effective in lessening the influence of the IWW in the timber industry. Unlike the SPD, the LLLL continued to operate after the war, finally disbanding in 1938. At its height, the LLLL boasted 125,000 members and holds the distinction of being the first labor union formed by the U.S. government.
Gerald W. Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. From 1979 to 1983, he was a sociologist with the Umpqua and Willamette National Forests in Oregon; in 1993-1998 he served as the sociologist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland; and from 1998 until his retirement in 2005 he was the national historian for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. He has published more than 75 books, chapters, book reviews, articles, and conference papers exploring a variety of historical topics such as the Native American use of fire to manage environments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the U.S. Army's Spruce Production Division during World War I.
Originally described as part of the Gerald W. Williams Collection, these materials were separated from the Williams Collection in 2016 to form this new collection.
This collection is open for research.
Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Army Spruce Production Division (MSS Spruce) Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis Oregon.
The core of Gerald Williams' research materials are maintained as the
Other collections in the OSU Special Collections and Archives that document aspects of the Army Spruce Production Division include the records of the
Archival collections relating to General Brice P. Disque can be found at the University of Oregon (
The Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Army Spruce Production Division consists of 7 series: 1. Photographs, 1916-1996; 2. Publications, 1917-1984; 3. Oral History Transcripts, 1979; 4. Publications and Presentations by Williams, 1984-1999; 5. Reference Materials, 1918-2013; 6. Research Notes, 1983; and 7. Ephemera, 1917-1980.
The Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Army Spruce Production Division consists of materials acquired by U.S. Forest Service historian Gerald Williams that document activities managed by the Division as well as its administration. The photographs and publications that make up about half of this collection reflect the logging. milling, and transport of spruce lumber in Oregon and Washington coordinated by the division. Associated activities include images of logging camps, the construction of railroad infrastructure, and division members visiting nearby towns. Transcripts of interviews with Division members illustrate the daily life of the logging camps and the harvesting of the spruce trees. Notes and reference materials amassed by Gerald Williams over the course of researching the Division and its head, General Brice Disque, include photocopies of newspaper articles, magazines, book chapters, and archival collection material. A conference paper resulting from this research is also part of the collection. Images relating to the Spruce Production Division can also found online at
Series 1 is made up of photographic images documenting Army Spruce Production Division (SPD) activities in Oregon and Washington. In addition to portrait and group shots of various SPD members and companies, these images include views of logging camps, mills, the felling of spruce, rail line and road building projects, and SPD members in towns for parades and other events. Among the locales represented in these images include the Oregon towns of Toledo, Newport, Seaside, and Vancouver, Washington. Images dating from 1980 to 1996 are slide reproductions of original photographs and printed graphics. The photographs number 400 prints, 61 negatives, and 320 slides. Digitized images relating to the Spruce Production Division can be found online at the
Disque served as Commanding General of the Spruce Production Division.
Town depicted in these images include Seaside (Or.), Bandon (Or.), Newport (Or.), Raymond (Wa.), and Salem (Or.).
Panoramic prints.
Work depicted in the images is primarily in the Newport area, with a few views of projects in Clatsop County.
Series 2 is made up of magazines, a congressional report, and other publications documenting Army Spruce Production Division activities and history. Digitized publications documenting the Spruce Production Division can be found online at
Magazine published by the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen.
Published by Monarch Mills, Portland.
Contains an article about the Lafayette Escadrille air squadron in World War I France.
Magazine published by the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen (LLLL).
A.M. Prentiss
Published by the Siems Carey H.S. Kerbaugh Corporation.
Select Committee on Expenditures in the War Department, House of Representatives 66th Congress. Not in folder.
Published by the Clatsop District of the U.S. Army Spruce Production Division.
Series 3 consists of transcripts from oral history interviews conducted in 1979 by the Olympic National Forest with 10 who served in the Spruce Production Division. The interviewees are: William W. Bell, Henry Fields, George Gibson, Leonard Groth, Betty Hamilton, Lloyd Lamb, John Macken, Vernon Peterson, Clyde Talbot, and Fritz Werges.
Series 4 consists predominantly of the manuscript of a presentation on the Spruce Production Division given by Gail E.H. Evans and Gerald W. Williams at a 1984 conference on military influences in Washington history and subsequent revisions of the manuscript. An article by Williams published in
Includes "Over Here, Over Here: The Army's Spruce Production Division During `The War to End All Wars`" delivered by Gerald W. Williams and Gail Evans at the 1984 conference "Military Influences on Washington History" and the conference program, correspondence, and handouts.
Bound manuscript of paper (slightly revised) that was presented at the Washington State Military History Conference by Gail E. H. Evans and Gerald W. Williams. Binding and printing by the Olympic National Park and the Willamette National Forest.
Revised version of paper originally presented in 1984.
Article by Williams published in
Series 5 consists of reference materials collected by Gerald Williams in the course of researching the Army Spruce Production Division. Mostly made up of articles from various published sources and book chapters, these materials also include photocopied correspondence, reports, and articles from archival collections.
Letters received by the Quinault Ranger District of the Olympic National Forest (Wa.) in response to a call for information from those involved in the Spruce Production Division.
Photocopied sections of the map "Post Route Map of the State of Oregon Showing Post Offices with the Intermediate Distances on Mail Routes."
Manuscript of paper by Byron E. Pearson presented at American Society for Environmental History.
Series 6 is made up of notes compiled by Gerald Williams in the course of researching the Army Spruce Production Division. The handwritten notes refer to information drawn from a variety of published sources and archival collections. Photocopies of many of these sources can be found among the reference materials in Series 5.
Series 7 contains paper-based ephemera that includes service documentation from Spruce Production Division members, a flyer, photocopies of magazine advertisements referencing the Division, sheet music for the song "Hear The Bugle Call", and a poster.
"Spruce for the Air; Fir for the Sea; the Strength of Your Blows and the Loyalty of Your Hearts Will Win this War"; Spruce Production Division, U.S. Signal Corps; Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen. Poster by Adrian Brewer. This poster is available