In 1863 two far-sighted men, A.W. McPherson and Henry Wetherby, purchased 6,000 acres of timberland lying along the banks of the Eel River in Humboldt County from the state of California.
In 1868 a company was formed to “harvest timber, to erect sawmills and other facilities and to do all of the things necessary for the production and sale of timber and other products of the forests.”
In 1869 that company was incorporated under the name: The Pacific Lumber Company.
Undoubtedly the curiosity of a visitor to Scotia is aroused at the site of an old time Heisler-geared steam locomotive resting peacefully on the wide expanse of lawn directly across from the main office of the Pacific Lumber Co. in Scotia. Many years ago this locomotive had a leading role in one of the gay traditions of an earlier phase of life in and around San Francisco. An excursion to the top of Mt. Tamalpais over the steep and winding Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railroad was once considered to be the ultimate in pleasure and excitement. Engine No. 9 was built for use on that railroad. When the gay days of its youth came to an end in 1925, No. 9 went to work in the woods of northern California. In 1950 the Pacific Lumber Co. became its owner and old No. 9 was retired with honor, a memento of the power and might of the now declining age of steam.
The unique building which seems to stand guard over the venerable but sprightly looking veteran of California railroad history was built in 1922 to house the First National Bank of Scotia. In the early 50s the bank was moved to new quarters and the old building was converted into a museum and a registration center for visitors.
When the original owners of the Pacific Lumber Co. included the words “and other facilities” in their statement of purpose, they could have had no idea of the wide meaning that phrase would come to have as it manifested in the management of the Pacific Lumber Company under the prudent ownership of the Murphy family. In 1863 “facilities” were thought of as being mechanical and other material aid to lumber production. Today, at Scotia there are many other facilities which are designed to add to the welfare and security of employees and their families.
This headquarters building houses the accounting department, clerical staff, a recreation center, and a men's club. The company provided medical care, a retirement plan, life insurance and other benefits which were administered in the headquarters building. A theater was built to match the museum which had been converted into an admin center and community center for the youth of the area.
Over time other buildings were erected including a shopping district, the Scotia Inn with 133 rooms, two churches, Catholic and Protestant, school facilities, and transportation equipment and facilities. Also a volunteer fire department was formed which housed the fire engines and the firefighters.
By 1950 the Pacific Lumber Company's timberland holdings amounted to over 150,000 acres.
Harvesting the old-growth redwood and Douglas fir trees on this timberland provided the company with its raw material. Some of those huge redwood trees were the finest sort of clear lumber in all the world. Logging methods were carefully designed to assure a perpetual yield of this high-grade material.
Under the Pacific Lumber Company's sustained yield policy, logging was planned several years in advance and those plans were formulated to harvest only mature trees. Areas containing at least 50% of such grown trees were designated for logging and then company foresters would proceed to mark the vigorous younger trees which were to be left standing. These served as seed trees for natural reforstation and in due time they reached their full growth and provided future generations with high quality wood products.
Logging crews entered the forest and selected the mature trees, after which they were cut into lengths up to 40 feet long. After skidding operations which moved the logs to a central loading point with cables, they were loaded onto heavy-duty trucks. From there the logs were hauled to a local company sawmill or taken to railroad loading areas where they were transferred to long cars for the journey to the central mill in Scotia.
In the sawmill the bark was removed by hydraulic barking machines before they entered the sawmill. Precision saw work was done just before the logs entered the mill so that the bark protected the logs until they entered the mill.
Pacific Lumber's sawmills were capable of producing approximately 500,000 board feet of redwood and Douglas fir lumber in each eight hour shift. Once in the mill logs were processed to yield the maximum amount of vertical grain boards eight feet wide and as long as possible. Sometimes certain sections of logs were cut out, leaving “cants” which were made into smaller boards in separate operations.
After basic milling, boards were carried over rollers to trim saws where defects were cut off and the boards trimmed to their various lumber lengths. They were then deposited slowly onto green chains where they were grouped into individual categories by size and grade.
After the men at the green chain sorted the lumber for grain and moisture content, the green boards were stacked into packages on pallets and started their journey to specific destinations. A large percentage was held in seasoning stacks and drying yards. After moisture content was reduced by air drying the lumber was placed in drying kilns for completion of the seasoning process. Kiln drying was done by the regulated use of heat, moisture and air circulation. After this final seasoning, the lumber was re- graded and sorted for shipping or storage.
Delivery was accomplished by loading finished lumber onto diesel trucks or railcars with Pacific Lumbers fleet of loading and handling equipment. Pacific Lumber also maintained the wharf and dock at Fields Landing on Humboldt Bay where ships were loaded with lumber cargo.
Pacific Lumber used almost all of the byproducts of their timber and lumber operations to minimize waste. Some byproducts such as sawdust and shavings were made into Presto logs. Even the bark was converted into a number of useful commercial items. After being stripped from the logs, the bark was dried for about 10 days and then taken to a conversion plant for shredding which was then compressed or processed into insulation, engine oil filters, soil conditioners, ceramic burner filters, athletic field cushioning, packaging, toy stuffing material and furniture upholstery, among others.
Highly refined bark was also used for specialized industrial purposes such as battery separation, filter paper and other special papers. Other byproducts included chips which were fabricated in other plants into hardboard products, kraft paper and roofing material.
Pacific Lumber Company also operated a plant in Eureka where the primary product was plywood.
Pacific Lumber Company's sustained yield policies and efficient processing methods produced a high quality lumber product with a minimum of waste. With the aid of their large professional crew of loggers, lumberjacks and millworkers, Pacific Lumber was committed to continuing to serve as one of the major bulwarks of the economy of the north coast.
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