WHITING LUMBER COMPANY RECORDS
1928-1933

East Tennessee State University
Archives of Appalachia
Box 70295
Johnson City, Tennessee 37614

E-mail: archives@etsu.edu
Telephone: (423) 439-4338

INTRODUCTION

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance: The Whiting Lumber Company Records were transferred to the Archives of Appalachia April 11, 1989 by Dr. Fred Borchuck, Director of Sherrod Library, after they were found in the basement of the ETSU library earlier that month.

Access: The collection is open fro research.

Processing Information: J.Clark M.Garrant S.SchwartzThe collection was opened to researchers December 5, 1990.

HISTORICAL NOTE

The Whiting Lumber Company, a Maryland-based timber company owned and operated by William Scott Whiting, established a single band saw mill in Shulls Mill, North Carolina in 1915. The company hired many of the rural community's residents to work in its new mill and as a result Shulls Mill experienced sudden economic prosperity. In three years the town had built a railroad depot, barber shop, movie theater, hospital and housing for the influx of people coming to Shulls Mill to work for Whiting Lumber. By 1918 the company had harvested over 1400 acres of forest but during the following seven years lumber production began a steady decline until the region's resources had been exhausted.

The Whiting Lumber Company, apparently seeking a means to expand its base of operation, successfully petitioned for a certificate of incorporation with Hambleton and Company January 24, 1928. The company's board of directors included: William S. Whiting, president; Peter L. Coleman, vice-president and treasurer; and William E. Bauer, secretary. It held its first meeting February 16, 1928 and it was decided that Whiting Lumber would purchase Tri-County Lumber Company and its timber rights in Avery and Watauga Counties, North Carolina and Johnson County, Tennessee. A purchase agreement between Whiting Lumber and Tri-County Lumber companies was finalized April 1, 1928.

The primary purpose behind Whiting Lumber's purchase of the Tri-County Lumber Company was the acquisition of its mill equipment (including a single band resaw) for the manufacture of finished lumber and the transfer of it to Butler, Johnson County, Tennessee to begin logging the region's timber. In addition to the relocation of the newly purchased mill equipment, many of the employees of Whiting Lumber Company's Shulls Mill location were "invited" to continue their employment by moving to Butler, Tennessee. The new prosperity experienced by Whiting Lumber was quite brief; after experiencing 5 years of flagging profits and increasing financial pressures from their creditors, the company was forced to file for bankruptcy on May 1, 1933.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Whiting Lumber Company Records contain correspondence, a copy of its certificate of incorporation, a signed copy of the purchase agreement between the Whiting and Tri-County Lumber Companies, minutes of the board of directors, letters of resignation, and blank minute-book forms. The bulk of the records document the incorporation of the Whiting Lumber Company, the purchase of the Tri-County Lumber, and the general operation and management of Whiting Lumber that eventually lead to its bankruptcy.

Organization: The records date between 1928 and 1933; they are arranged chronologically with the blank minute-book forms placed at the end of the collection.

Important subjects covered in this collection include:

Bauer, William E.
Coleman, Peter T.
Johnson County (Tenn.)
Logging
Lumbering--North Carolina
Lumbering--Tennessee, East
North Carolina--Commerce
Tennessee, East--Commerce
Tri-County Lumber Company
Wessels, Walter B.
Whiting, William S.
Whiting Lumber Company

BOX AND FOLDER LIST

Box 1

1. Minute Book - Whiting Lumber Company, 1928-33.
2. Blank Minute book forms, ND.

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MTC 05/01 - modified GKY 02/28/02