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Potlatch Forests, Inc. Records, 1910-1938

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Potlatch Forests, Inc.
Title
Potlatch Forests, Inc. Records
Dates
1910-1938 (inclusive)
Quantity
13 linear feet
Collection Number
MG096 (collection)
Summary
Correspondence and financial records of companies predecessor and subsidiary to Potlatch Forests, Inc.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Content Description

The material contained in this collection includes correspondence and financial records from some of the companies comprising the Potlatch Forests, inc. These companies include Bonners Ferry Lumber, Washington, Idaho, & Montana Railway, Red Collar Line, St. Joe Boom, Edward Rutledge Timber and several smaller subsidiaries. There is also one box of material relating to the Kootenai County Defense Council.

Much of the material in this collection complements the material in the George Frederick Jewett, Sr. papers, Manuscript Group MG043. A descriptive inventory of these papers was completed by Barbara Richards in 1969. A researcher in this area should consult both inventories in order to make maximum use of the material in these two collections.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The items in this collection have been grouped by individual company within the Weyerhaeuser owned Potlatch Forests, Inc. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically under the name of the person or company from whom the letter was received or to whom it was sent. The letters from each individual are then arranged chronologically. Any variation in this order is noted in the appropriate place in this inventory. Other reports, tax returns, annual statements, etc., are in chronological order.

File cards have been prepared for each division of this inventory.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Series I. Bonners Ferry Lumber Company

    The Bonners Ferry Lumber Company, a Weyerhaeuser enterprise, was formed in Wisconsin late in 1902 to take over some 13,000 acres of timberland, logging contracts, a mill site, sawmill machinery and riparian rights located on the Kootenai River at Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The company was beset by problems from the beginning. Driving logs down the Kootenai was difficult; the Great Northern Railway could not carry logs through tunnels; the facilities for holding logs once they arrived at Bonners Ferry were inadequate; and at times flood waters inundated the drying yard. The dry kiln was not large enough to handle the out-put of the mill; but even after the mill burned and was rebuilt in 1909, earnings never measured up to expenses.

    Although production continued to rise from 1904, eventually peaking in 1913, it then tapered off. At various times after 1913 members of the Weyerhaeuser family considered taking their loss and discontinuing operations, but on each occasion either a director or the general manager, R.H. McCoy, pointed to favorable future prospects. Strikes in 1917 and 1919 which closed logging camps in northern Idaho severely crippled operations at the company. By the mid twenties the accounts were showing more red ink than black; the reasons include not only heavy taxes and high transportation charges, but exposure to fire and insects, high logging costs due to the rugged terrain, and severe weather conditions. Operations at Bonners Ferry Lumber Company were finally terminated in 1926, but it was not until 1937 that the Montana holdings of the company were sold to the J. Neills Lumber Company of Libby for $185,000. George F. Jewett and his associates at Potlatch Forests, Inc. salvaged a little more.

    The Bonners Ferry Lumber Company papers in this collection are contained in two file boxes.

    • Description: Annual Reports

      The annual financial reports for 1910-1931 consist of paperbound volumes of preprinted ledger sheets; the figures are hand written, with an occasional typed page of additional figures. Beginning in 1931 all reports are typed. Included among the page headings are general balance sheet, statement of timber and timber lands, operating expenses, report of shipments for the year, report of production for the year, and report of lumber on hand. Annual reports are present for the years 1910-1916; 1918-1934; and 1936-1941.

      Location: Series I. Bonners Ferry Lumber Company

    • License Taxes

    • Description: Clearwater Timber Company Notes

      This folder consists of twenty seven promissory notes from the Clearwater Timber Company dated between January 23, 1928 and October 17, 1929. A list of the notes and the interest paid, and several items of correspondence from Charles J. McGough of the Weyerhaeuser Corporation to the Bonners Ferry Lumber Company about the Clearwater notes, dated between November 15, 1930 and April 3, 1933 is also included.

      Location: Series I. Bonners Ferry Lumber Company
    • Description: Appraisal

      In 1920 the General Appraisal Company completed an inventory of the Bonners Ferry Lumber Company. Their report is contained in a 485 page notebook; it includes a complete inventory of the company giving the replacement cost of each item, the depreciated value, and the insurable value. Seventeen photographs of the company, both interior and exterior views, are bound in at the end, as is a large scale hand drawn map of the property. (scale: 1 inch = 50 feet)

      Location: Series I. Bonners Ferry Lumber Company
    • Description: Income Tax Returns

      The income tax returns filed by Bonners Ferry Lumber Company are in individual envelopes, each containing a copy of the return itself, the Forest Industries Schedule, work sheets, correspondence concerning the return, and statements of income and salaries over $1000 paid by the company. The envelope for 1937 contains details of the sale of property to the J. Neils Lumber Company of Libby, Montana. Returns are included for the years 1918-1940.

      Location: Series I. Bonners Ferry Lumber Company

  • Series II. Washington, Idaho, & Montana Railway Company

    Prior to establishing this railroad in 1905, Weyerhaeuser had unsuccessfully attempted to get the Northern Pacific Railway which ran through Palouse, Washington to build it as a feeder line. It was not until the Milwaukee line extended its tracks into northern Idaho that the Northern Pacific offered to buy the line, but Weyerhaeuser would not sell as he had promised the Milwaukee line he would retain control of the W.I.&M. for ten years.

    Construction on the 45 mile line began in 1905 and by 1907 trains were running. The line operated between Palouse, Washington and Bovill, Idaho. Rough logs were transported from Bovill to the mill at Potlatch; the finished lumber was then hauled to the Northern Pacific Line at Palouse. The construction of the railroad stimulated agriculture and even mining as well as lumbering. The Washington, Idaho, & Montana Railway was included in the 1931 incorporation of Potlatch Forests, Inc.

  • Series III. Kootenai County Defense Council

    Huntington Taylor, who was chairman of the defense council for Kootenai county, was also the general manager of the Edward Rutledge Lumber Company. The defense councils were begun in 1917 and were responsible for coordinating the various war related fund drives.

  • Series IV. Potlatch Forest Products & Subsidiaries

    These four boxes contain miscellaneous material relating to the corporation and several of its many subsidiaries. A complete list of the contents is given below.

  • Series V. Red Collar Line

    The Red Collar Line, organized in October 1929, was a tugboat company which carried logs across Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Rutledge Sawmill. It was included in the 1931 incorporation of Potlatch Forests, Inc.

  • Series VI. St. Joe Boom Company

    Another of the Weyerhaeuser - PFI enterprises, the St. Joe Boom Company was responsible for sorting logs before they were towed across the lake by the Red Collar Line.

    The correspondence in this series is arranged by year, then alphabetically within each year. It is mainly concerned with charges for work done and the obtaining of equipment.

    Two oversized items dealing with the St. Joe Boom Company are unboxed:

    Insurance Record (15" x 101/2" ledger, ca. 1931)

    Expenses, Revnues (sic) Properties (18" x 12" ledger) 1932

  • Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company

    Based in Coeur d'Alene, the Rutledge Timber Company was organized in 1902 with Edward Rutledge as president. In 1917 Huntington Taylor became general manager. The company owned shares in both the St. Joe Boom Company and Red Collar lines. Never very profitable, the company paid no dividends from its founding in 1902 until its merger with the Clearwater and Potlatch companies in 1931.

    The first of the three boxes contains correspondence, both incoming and outgoing. Since the content concerns business matters, including invoices and inquiries about equipment, the correspondence is strictly alphabetical with no concern for dates except within sections for individual correspondents. Although the majority of the letters were written in 1935, the inclusive dates are 1929-1942. In a few cases, due to the amount of correspondence, separate folders have been maintained for individuals or divisions of Potlatch Forests, Inc.

    The three miscellaneous folders contain the following items:

    1. U.S. Forest Service Vouchers, 1932-1935

    2. Wood Conversion Company stock purchase correspondence. 1937

    3. Legal document: General Conveyance between Edward Rutledge Timber Co. and Potlatch Forests, inc. 1931. Carbon typescript.

    Legal document: State of South Dakota. In the matter of the dissolution and receivership of Siberz Bros. & Craig. Feb. 14, 1939. Carbon typescript.

    Miscellaneous production records, 1931, 1932.

    The final two boxes include Payroll and Tax and other records.

    • Description: Payroll Records

      Records for December 1932 to December 1935 are included. These contain figures for plant payroll distribution, payroll deductions, compensation insurance, public liability, and medical costs.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Taxes

      The information includes tax receipts and lists of personal property for the years 1925 and 1926.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Timber Holdings

      This item is a ledger containing the Edward Rutledge timber holdings as of May 29, 1913.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Horses

      Edward Rutledge Timber Company owned horses which they rented to other timber companies, haulers and logging companies. The information in this folder includes an inventory of the horses for 1922, 1923, and 1924, and copies of contracts for rentals in 1924.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Workmen's Compensation Exchange

      This folder contains various items of correspondence, miscellaneous reports and forms from 1920 to 1928.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Annual Report

      The 38 page annual report for 1930 is the only report in this collection.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: McGoldrick Lumber Co. and Rutledge Timber Co. Lands

      The blueprint of lands for sale June 10, 1912 is the only item in this folder.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Edward Rutledge Timber Company Appraisement

      This 465 page appraisement, completed in 1919, includes replacement value, depreciated value, and insurable value of each inventoried item at the company. There are also 16 photographs of various sections of the company.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Clearwater Engineering Project, by Earnest J. Brigham

      This is an unpaged carbon typescript which includes a small section on the Rutledge Timber Company Railroad project. There are several photographs of Potlatch logging operations and a chart of comparative logging costs in 1919.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Co.

      Included in this folder are correspondence and the agreement concerning the contract at Clarkia. The correspondence spans the years 1925-1942.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Annual Meetings of Stockholders and Trustees

      The material in this folder includes the announcements of the meetings, lists of stockholders, with amount of stock held and its value, attending the meetings, either in person or by proxy, the minutes of the meetings, and occasionally the financial statements. The years represented by minutes are 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, and 1943. For several years the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees are also included.

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company
    • Description: Inspection Reports

      These inspections were performed for insurance purposes by the following companies:

      Epperson-Rankin-National Exchanges. 1931

      Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company. 1935

      Idaho Surveying and Rating Bureau. 1935

      U.S. Epperson Underwriting Company. 1935

      Western Pine Association. Mill Grade Inspection Report. 1935

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company

    • Weyerhaeuser Sales Company Publications

      Each of the items in this collection is a single page mimeographed newsletter.

    • Description: Insurance Agencies

      These folders, arranged alphabetically by company, contain miscellaneous correspondence and occasionally financial statements of the insurance company. The following companies were utilized by the Edward Rutledge Timber Company:

      American Insurance Agency. 1927, 1930, 1931

      American Investment Company. 1930, 1931

      At Lumbermen's Lloyd's. 1925, 1926, 1927

      Consolidated Insurance Agency. 1931

      Epperson-Rankin-National Exchange. 1927, 1931

      General Insurance Company. 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931

      Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company. 1926

      Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance. 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929

      Manufacturing Lumbermen's Underwriters. 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931

      Martin General Agency. 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931

      Mill Owners Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Iowa. 1926, 1927

      National Association of Manufacturers. 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929

      Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 1925, 1926

      Rankin-Benedict Underwriting Company. 1931

      Sexton, Charles W., Company. 1931

      Location: Series VII. Edward Rutledge Timber Company

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Other Creators

Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen
1980

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