Weyerhaeuser Timber Company

On January 3, 1900, the timber industry in Washington underwent one of the biggest changes in its history. On that day, Midwestern lumber magnate Frederick Weyerhaeuser purchased 900,000 acres of land from the Northern Pacific railroad in the largest private land transaction in American history to that point in time. He paid $6 an acre.

Frederick Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser’s company brought economies of scale that modernized the industry. Part of the company’s deal with Northern Pacific give it low rates on shipments to the eastern markets. At the same time, the formerly thriving lumber industry of Wisconsin and Minnesota was in decline, due to deforestation. Thus, the national prominence of the Pacific Northwest timber industry was ensured.

Worker’s compensation laws

Weyerhaeuser did not take a hard line on wages and working conditions. He came more from the tradition of those who saw value to good morale and decent pay, though of course his employees may not have always agreed with that statement.

The issue of injuries and deaths on the job was central. The dangers came from being cut and crushed, and the protections and compensation were inconsistent. However, some workers brought suits in state court and were awarded large sums. Many companies maintained that workers routinely ignored safety measures and were frightened by the size of the judgments.

In any event, a compromise was reached. Working with the American Federation of Labor, the largest timber companies including Weyerhaeuser’s drafted a worker’s compensation law, which was implemented in 1911. Thus, Washington joined the first wave of states to establish such programs.
While the labor situation in the area remained volatile, groups like the Wobblies never gained the influence that they aspired to.

The Beginning of the Logging and Timber Industry in Washington

It is difficult to imagine the development of Washington State without the presence of the logging industry. It didn't take long for the California Gold Rush to expose the need for a steady, food supply of lumber. Starting in the 1850s, the area around the Puget Sound served this need. For a hundred years, no other industry came close to matching logging in its importance to Washington.

Many forests were nearly destroyed by heedless practices during those early years. Encourage by Gifford Pinchot of the US Forestry Service, and by the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, compromises were gradually reached with an eye towards sustainable timber harvesting. Simultaneously preserving the forest and profiting from it is a tension that has defined Washington ever since.

The Rough World of Washington Logging Towns

Early Logging Towns

During the first decades of significant settlement, logging was very much a small organization enterprise. Often a few men would set up a site near the shore of Puget Sound, cut down all of the surrounding trees, and overload the closest ship for transport to California. Transport by any means other than boat, was difficult in the back-country. Towns remained small, and the culture of the logging men was libertine and suffused with machismo. 

 An early lumber mill on the shores of Puget Sound

No town of any size existed without a saloon. With little else to spend their money on, men congregated to gamble, drink, fight, and carouse with prostitutes. There were few white women, so most of the hookers were native Indians or Asian women.

While logging also occurred in Oregon, the cultural effects were mitigated there by the presence of numerous farming families, who brought something of a check to the excesses of taverns and prostitution. In Washington, the loggers had the place to themselves for many years, and the area gained its reputation as a den of vice and lawlessness. Few outsiders dared venture into some of the towns.

Most notorious were the cities around Grays Harbor, such as Aberdeen and Hoquiam. In a single year over forty dead bodies were found floating in the water under varying circumstances. Billy Gohl was credited with many of the murders, as well as innumerable assaults, thefts, and arsons. Part-time psychopath, part-time bartender and union agent, he took a special delight in targeting sailors at liberty.