Exterior shot of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Circus. A banner outside displays the words "Plywood Jubilee" and "Free Show." Flood lighting can be seen at the top and bottom of the structure.

Laborers at the U.S. Plywood Co. in Seattle.

African American laborer seen in front of what appears to be a large, sealable container for treating lumber with arsenic to prevent rot.

Members of the Western Retail Lumbermens' Association pose in February of 1927 in front of a little bungalow erected on the roof of the Winthrop Hotel in honor of the group's annual convention. The bungalow was made entirely of local wood and demonstrated its use in construction. When the 24th annual convention concluded February 26, 1927, new leaders had been elected for the coming year. Pictured leaders are, back row, left to right: George A. Heilman (Wyo.), H.J. Sawtelle (Mt.), W.B. Hussman (Idaho), I.G. Kjosness (Idaho), and R.O. Bushong (Ore.) Front row, left to right, F.C. Kendall (Spokane), J.W. Burt (Mt.), Robt M. Graham (Mt.), R.M. Cross (Utah) and E.J. Ostrander (Idaho.) (TDL 2/27/1927, pg. A-5; TNT 2/23/1927, pg. 7) (WSHS- negative A893-0)

Washington Lumber Dealers Association (Tacoma); Business people--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);

Loading cut lumber from the docks onto the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company's lumber ship "Lake Frances".

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Cargo ships--Tacoma; Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940;

One man sitting atop a large log with six men standing in front of the log, which is being transported on a rail car. In the 1930's, mammoth old growth trees were still being harvested to supply lumber and also to advertise the Northwest timber industry. This 700 year old giant was cut on the St. Paul & Tacoma Camp 5 holdings near the junction of the Puyallup & Mowitz Rivers. It was the largest seen at the mill in 15 years, 10 1/2 feet across and estimated at 45,790 board feet. If converted into lumber, this one tree could supply the wood for 4 good 5 room houses. However, due to advanced age and deterioration, 2/3 of the tree was unusable. The remainder was shipped to Olympia to peel for veneer. (T. Times 10/19/1935, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma;

ca. 1936. West Coast Plywood Mill. Artistic view of buildings and structures at mill.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Coast Plywood Mill (Tacoma);

ca. 1937. Worker photographed applying adhesive and laying a plywood subfloor at an unidentified location, circa 1937. (filed with Argentum)

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Several unidentified members of Tacoma's Chamber of Commerce paid a visit to the Danish motorship "Tacoma" when she docked at the Defiance Lumber Mill on her maiden voyage January 14, 1927. They posed with members of the crew for this portrait. The "Tacoma" was built in Copenhagen for the Orient Steamship Company of Copenhagen. She was loading Northwest lumber enroute to Japan. She was 400 feet in length with a beam of 55 feet. She ran under the power of two diesel engines with a crew of 15 officers and 34 crewmen. (TNT 1/14/1927, pg. 20) (WSHS)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Cargo ships; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Orient Steamship Co. (Copenhagen); Commerce--Tacoma--1920-1930; Chamber of Commerce (Tacoma)--1920-1930;

ca. 1946. The unveiling of the giant cross section of a tree trunk at the Northwest Door Company. The Northwest Door Co. plywood and veneer plant was founded in 1935. In the summer of 1946, the company logged a gigantic old growth Douglas Fir on their logging property southwest of Mt. Rainier. The tree was almost 14 feet in diameter. A cross section of the trunk was removed and sent to the Tacoma plant for display. Here the section is covered by a curtain prior to its unveiling. The cross section of fir was moved in 1965 to the Lakewood branch of the Pierce County Library system. See image #3 for the unveiling.

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

An elevated view of the Defiance Mill saw line for I.W. Johnson Engineering. The gang type saw mill the Doud brothers built in 1929 was particularly adapted to sawing smaller logs. The gang mill cut with greater precision and left the lumber much smoother. A person who ran a gang saw was called a "gangster".

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Defiance Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Saws; Mills--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A young girl looks up at the enormous log section. The annual rings show the tree was 586 years old. It would have provided much good lumber even before Columbus landed in America. Long over-ripe, rot had begun to appear just inside the bark at the base of the trunk and much of the upper part was decayed. (T.Times, 10/16/1946, p.4; TNT 8/21/1946, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Girls--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Rucker Brothers trucking company was owned by Burrell and Murrell Rucker, they were located on 733 East 11th Street, on the same site as the St. Paul and Tacoma Retail Lumberyard. View of Rucker Brothers truck loaded with lumber, St. Paul and Tacoma Lumberyard in background. St. Paul and Tacoma lumber was shipped throughout Washington in Rucker trucks.

Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shipping--Tacoma; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Rucker Brothers (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; International trucks;

Ladd Logging Company. Several very large logs float in a log pond. In October 1948 Ladd Logging Company was known to have been cutting logs from the Kosmos section of east Lewis County along with other logging companies. The logs were brought to Tacoma's harbor dumps and storage spaces by rail. When needed they were rafted together and taken to saw or pulp mills. Large numbers of logs were cut and dumped in log ponds against the approaching winter slowdown in the woods. (T.Times, 2/26/1941; Ledger 11/10/1946)

Ladd Logging Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Waterfronts;

Exterior of Wheeler Osgood Company's offices. Wheeler-Osgood was known as the world's largest manufacturer of doors and plywood at this time. The company started making doors in Tacoma in 1889 and plywood in 1910, only five years after the first fir plywood was manufactured at Portland, Oregon. N.O. Cruver served as president of the company at this time. He was president for 32 years.

Wheeler, Osgood Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Cheney Lumber Mills could be found throughout Washington, Oregon and California. The Tacoma plant had a sawmill, dry kiln, planning mill, log sorting area, storage facilities and loading areas. This plant employed approximately forty people. Exterior view of Cheney plant, laborers appear to be stacking and moving studs by using equipment.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Loading a shipment of lumber from Cheney Lumber Company was made easier by the Cheney's facilities and dock on Sitcum Waterway. Cranes could load directly from railroad cars that had tracks on the dock. TPL-5676

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Cheney Lumber Co. was founded by Ben B. Cheney. Ben Cheney, although a well respected lumberman and a pioneer in his field, is also known for his interest in sports. The Cheney Stud teams participated in baseball, football, soccer and basketball. Ben Cheney was instrumental in bringing the Pacific Coast Baseball League to Tacoma and the Tacoma Cheney Stadium was named in his honor. A view of Cheney Lumber stacked on the dock ready for loading into a ship tied-up at the company dock.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Interiors at the Buffelen Lumber plant on the Tideflats. The immense plant was located on Lincoln Ave at Taylor Way. It was one of the earliest producers of fir plywood; beginning plywood production in 1916. In this photograph, two employees, one of them a woman wearing slacks, stack sheets of plywood. Plywood was an important World War II material, used in boats as well as buildings. During and after WWII, it was used for pre-fab housing. ("The Plywood Age" Robert M. Cour)

Buffelen Lumber & Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Cheney Lumber Company. Large logs felled by the Cheney Lumber Company dwarf the man standing on a bulldozer and another standing on top of one of the logs. Lesser trees are still standing in the now bleak landscape.

Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trees; Logs; Woodcutting;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Testing plywood for resistance to pressure. One worker manipulates the machinery while another keeps record of the test results. Severs laboratory tests to which fir plywood was constantly subjected assured consumers of consistent high-quality materials. The standards not only set forth grades and types but also consistent testing procedures. (T.Times, 2/25/1949)

Plywood Research Foundation (Tacoma); Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laboratories--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Testing plywood at the plywood lab. One of the standards demanded that the adhesives, after setting, be stronger than the wood. The research projects were not only intended to answer today's questions but also future applications. Other studies included industrial and agricultural applications. (TNT, 2/17/1948, p.3-B)

Plywood Research Foundation (Tacoma); Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laboratories--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Aerial view of St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company at Olympia plant. TPL-6588

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Olympia); Lumber industry--Olympia--1940-1950; Aerial photographs;

Henry Mill shots of hardware and quantity. Henry Mill & Timber Co. was a leader in the pre-fabricated lumber field. Pre-fabricated lumber helped speed the war effort in filling their government orders. Henry Mill also had their products throughout Tacoma housing projects. Exterior view of Henry Mill & Timber Co. plant.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Prefabricated buildings--Tacoma; Henry Mill & Timber Co. (Tacoma);

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. had three logging camps located near Tacoma. St. Paul and Tacoma lumber company provides enough lumber and plywood to build 48 homes per day. They were one of the largest lumber companies in the Pacific Northwest. View of cleared land near one of the logging camps.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cutover lands; Logs; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

A. H. Cox & Co. at St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. logging operation at Puyallup. St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber has invested extra sums of money on researching preventative measures for protecting forests from fires and wildlife. View of high line duplex skidder and loader. This machine requires a crew of 14 men and has the capacity of 15 cars of logs in an 8 hour period. TPL-6378

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Woodcutting--Puyallup; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A man is marking three large logs with a tool. They are on a raised platform, possibly a railroad car.

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

ca. 1946. A section of Douglas Fir tree trunk almost 14 feet in diameter arrives at the Northwest Door Co. plywood plant. Anthony A. "Spike" Maras perches on top of the trunk, which is marked with a white 14 and sits on a logging truck. The "14" is the measurement of the diameter of the tree. On the ground, Fred R. Davis, left, and Percy J. Maras crane their necks to see the top of the trunk. The men are the owners of the Davis & Maras Co., which was hired by Northwest Door to fell the tree. The giant trunk will not be made into plywood, but will be put on display. (identification supplied by Anthony "Spike" Maras)

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logging trucks--1940-1950; Maras, Anthony A.; Davis, Fred R.; Maras, Percy J.;

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. Railroad cars have brought logs to the log pond in this August of 1946 photograph. The railroad cars have false bottoms that can be lifted by the crane allowing the logs to plunge into the log pond.

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery;

A workman at the Northwest Door Company kneels on the top of a huge section of an old growth douglas fir. He is using a long buck saw to slice off a section from the piece of wood. This 12ft 9 inch diameter slice of trunk will be on display at the door company. The tree was cut on the company's holdings west of Packwood.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Logs; Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;