Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company

Formed by merger of Saginaw Lumber Co. and Manistee Lumber Co. 1899; incorporated in Delaware until 1921, then in Illinois; absorbed by Southwest Lumber Mills 1953; acquired by Stone Container Co. 1987, renamed Stone Forest Industries ca. 1989; closed May 1993.

The Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company was founded circa 1870 in the state of Michigan. In 1893 the company opened a lumber mill in Williams, Arizona Territory. The company virtually built the town of Williams and supplied the town with both power and water for nearly the entire first half of the twentieth century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (earlier known as the Atlantic and Pacific) also depended on the company to provide their trains with water.

Saginaw and Manistee incorporated in 1899. Much of the early success of Saginaw and Manistee in Arizona can be attributed to the acquisition of large tracts of land from Edward Perrin in 1903. The railroads of the Saginaw and Manistee quickly branched north and south of the mill to log these newly acquired regions.

The lumber mill in Williams was under the ownership of Saginaw and Manistee which appears to have moved to Delaware and eventually to Chicago. H.F. Chaney was the president of the organization in Chicago for much of the time period that this collection covers (1893-1954). The Chicago company was in turn owned by Baker and Fentress, a holding company in Chicago. Baker and Fentress also owned lumber yards in Loyalton, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. William F. Dermont and William Wente were each managers between 1905 and 1916. R.A. Nickerson became manager of the Williams operation from 1917 to 1930 when J.M. Bedford took over. Jack Bedford in Williams was the son of J.M. Bedford, the manager at the Loyalton yard (Clover Valley Lumber Company).

In 1941 Saginaw and Manistee leased the Arizona Lumber and Timber Company's mill from Joseph Dolan in Flagstaff and soon moved their entire operations to Flagstaff while selling the Williams plant to Klammath Iron Works for salvage. During the Second World War, Saginaw and Manistee worked closely with the government to make war supplies. The company also worked with the National War Labor Board to solve employment and union problems. Other important individuals during the 1940's were Blaine Shimmel, who was their lawyer, and the company of Marsh and Mclennan, who was their principal insurer.

In 1949 Jack Bedford was killed in an automobile accident on Ash Fork Hill. Enfred Johnson began running the mill in Bedford's place until 1953 when Southwest Lumber Mills Inc. absorbed Saginaw and Manistee.

For further information on Saginaw and Manistee's operations in Northern Arizona see: Kenneth J. LaBoone, The Arizona Lumber and Timber Company 1881-1981 (1981) and Robert L. Matheny, The History of Lumbering in Arizona before World War Two (1975). Both books are available in the Special Collections and Archives Department, Cline Library at Northern Arizona University.

The predecessor of this company, the Saginaw Lumber Company, was incorporated by Michigan men in December 1892 under Illinois law. At this time, John C. Brown, the first president, purchased timber rights from the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and erected a sawmill at Williams which began work in the spring of 1893. It burned in 1896 and was rebuilt the following year. The company virtually built the town of Williams and supplied the town with both power and water for nearly the entire first half of the twentieth century.

In 1899, the stockholders of the Manistee Lumber Co. of Michigan, joined forces with Saginaw to form the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company as a Michigan corporation until 1921 when ownership was transferred to a new company with the same name but incorporated under Delaware laws. The main office was in Williams and later Chicago.

H. F. Chaney was the company president in Chicago for much of the time period that this collection covers (1893-1954). The Chicago company was in turn owned by Baker and Fentress, a Chicago investment banking firm. Baker and Fentress also owned lumber yards in Loyalton, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. William F. Dermont and William Wente were each managers between 1905 and 1916. R.A. Nickerson became manager of the Williams operation from 1917 to 1930 when J.M. Bedford took over.

In 1941 Saginaw and Manistee leased the Arizona Lumber and Timber Company's mill from Joseph Dolan in Flagstaff and soon moved their entire operations to Flagstaff and sold the Williams plant to Klammath Iron Works for salvage. During the Second World War, Saginaw and Manistee worked closely with the government to make war supplies. The company also worked with the National War Labor Board to solve employment and union problems.

In 1949 Jack Bedford was killed in an automobile accident on Ash Fork Hill. Enfred Johnson began running the mill in Bedford's place until 1953 when James B Edens bought out and shut down Saginaw and Manistee. Edens renamed the company Southwest Forest Industries. In 1987, the company was acquired by Stone Container Company, later changed to Stone Forest Industries (C. 1989). The facility closed permanently on May 15, 1993.

For further information on Saginaw and Manistee's operations in Northern Arizona see: Kenneth J. LaBoone, The Arizona Lumber and Timber Company 1881-19811 and Robert L. Matheny, The History of Lumbering in Arizona before World War Two 1975. Both books are available in the Special Collections and Archives Department, Cline Library at Northern Arizona University.