A Lumber Industry on the Rise

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  Two weeks ago, we explored Taylor County’s abundance of raw lumber, the men who recognized its potential and spearheaded more than a few lucrative businesses that provided an abundance of local jobs.

Why even talk about wood? Because even today, forty-eight% of Kentucky is forestland. That’s over 12 million acres. Kentucky ranks in the top three states nationally in hardwood production, and our forest industries employ more than 59,000 Kentuckians.

 While our county had and has a wealth of wood, and many industrious men who sought to make Taylor County’s dense stands of hardwoods into a major industry, it was a business that came with risks and required a lot of resilience on the part of owners.

In 1914, two disastrous fires damaged the county’s lumber trade. On July 7, a fire broke out at the Archibald Wheel Company, destroying the building along with two carloads of turned spokes and 15,000 rough spokes. Before the year’s end, the Stave Mill of John Gowdy was likewise consumed by flames. Both businesses were rebuilt despite a woeful lack of insurance.

By 1919, the Campbellsville Hoop and Basket Company began supplying tobacco houses with handmade rattan tobacco baskets — considered to be superior to machine baskets. The News Journal reported that carloads of the baskets were being shipped out of Campbellsville. Unfortunately, fire struck again in December of 1920. Although the owners of the business were not listed in the newspaper, Edward and Joe Singler left Campbellsville and moved to Junction City, Kentucky, where they made tobacco baskets for many years. We can probably assume that they were involved in the basket company here.

Henry T. Parrott purchased the Campbellsville Lumber Company from Walter Wood in 1912. African Americans who lived adjacent to the mill were hired and became a dependable workforce for the new owner.

Campbellsville Lumber Company was located on the east side of the railroad track. The buildings were painted red and were locally known as “Red Mill.” On the west side of the track, behind the Bethel Presbyterian Church was the Campbellsville Bourbon Cooperage, which made whiskey barrels. It was also painted red but was not part of Red Mill. The cooperage was smaller than Campbellsville Lumber and was located here until the 1960s.

By the end of the 1920s, the best of Taylor County’s forests had been harvested for flooring, and the depression of the 1930s slowed home and commercial building. Many employees were laid off. Still, the local Feb. 14, 1935 newspaper stated that the cooperage at that time was the largest industry in Campbellsville.

Only six months later, fire struck again, inflicting $30,000 damage to the cooperage; but a new metal building was erected by November, which enabled the plant to hire 135 men and produce 185 barrels per day. In 1937, the business closed for 30 days for updates that allowed the plant to produce 400 barrels per day.

Two kinds of barrels were produced at the cooperage: food barrels and bourbon barrels. Food barrels were shipped to the East coast to be sent to the European theater for the U.S. armed forces and later to California for the men fighting in the Pacific theater. Whiskey barrels were made of white oak staves. White oak barrels are charred inside to give whiskey its red color as it ages. Most of these barrels were shipped to Brown-Forman in Louisville

In 1948, Henry Parrott, sold his ownership of the cooperage to the Bourbon Cooperage of Lebanon, although barrels continued to be produced in Campbellsville. John Gowdy’s large stave yard retained a presence in town. Years later, its location became Central Plaza Shopping Center.

Fire continued to haunt the industry. In November 1951, fire once again destroyed 80,000 staves at the cooperage facility in Campbellsville, accounting for $100,000 in damage. In 1960, W.T. Humphrey, president of the Bourbon Cooperage Co. announced that the plant would be moved to Lebanon where a new building was provided.

 Kentucky Barrel Company opened in Campbellsville on Sept. 26, 1963. Located on Jackson Street near the railroad tracks, it reprocessed used barrels from Kentucky distillers and shipped them overseas. W.E. Cooley was in charge of the plant. He was also the assistant general manager of the Bourbon Cooperage in Lebanon. Tommy Humphrey was president of the cooperage, which was the parent company of Kentucky Barrel. The new company’s operations were conducted in the former Campbellsville Lumber Company building. Kentucky Barrel opened with 15 employees. Barrels arrived by truck and were then put on a U-shaped assembly line where they were knocked down, bundled and sent primarily to New Orleans for shipment to Scotland. There they were re-assembled and used to age and tan Scotch whisky.

Another mill was built and operated by Owen Dabney from 1931 until 1937 when the mill was turned into a sawmill and planning mill. They cut their own timber and prepared it for use in building homes. It was the only supplier of building lumber for framing houses in this immediate area. They bought standing timber, cut it, and brought it to their place of business where it was prepared for specific building needs. The mill remained in operation until 1966 and was torn down in 1970.

 Courtesy: www.pmg-ky2.com