George W. Pennell had been born on his family's farm in New York State in 1840. At the age of 19 he left the university to return to his father's farm where he remained until 1866. When he decided to try his fortune in the west, he moved to Hannibal, MO where he worked for the Hixon Lumber Company. In 1872 Pennell was sent to Atchison, KS to manage that lumber yard. After three years, he purchased the Hixon Lumber Yard in Atchison, KS. In 1886, William Carlisle, who was a dept. manager for the Howell-Jewett Lumber Co., made Pennell a proposal to go into partnership on a wholesale lumber operation. Pennell accepted and the William Carlisle & Company firm was established. Carlisle spent his time in the field and Pennell managed the office details of the partnership. The firm's first large profits came from the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 which were invested in Arkansas timber lands. They built their sawmill and a town developed around it which they named Onalaska, AK. In 1903, the firm was taken over by the Carlisle-Pennell Lumber Company. Three years after the Carlisle-Pennell Company was formed, the corporation secured holdings in Texas. The town that grew up around that operation was named Onalaska, TX. The company went on to develop holdings of 55,000 acres of timberland in Washington State including two large mill operations. These included the mills in Onalaska, WA and Carlisle, WA. The company first acquired its Washington property in 1896 where they cut several thousand acres in the vicinity of Centralia, WA. In 1913 the Carlisle mill was established followed by the Onalaska mill in 1916. In 1924 the Onalaska mill employed about 325 men and could turn out about 250 carloads of lumber per month. Although the Carlisle Lumber Co. had established and helped build the town, Onalaska was not a typical company owned town. Most of the merchants were independent operators and not owned by the lumber company. About 1938 the Onalaska mill was shut down due to the Depression. George W. Pennell passed away in Atchison, KS in February 1920. William Carlisle passed away in 1924 in Lewis County, WA.
From the description of Washington State Library's collection of Carlisle Lumber Company ledgers, 1898-1902, 1906-1920, 1922-1942. (Washington State Library, Office of Secretary of State). WorldCat record id: 430954884
