Lumber Business

The first settlers had their “lumber yards” out in the woods where they cut their own trees and hewed their homes from native lumber. But a growing town must have adequate lumber to build. S. Kethledge built the first commercially operated lumberyard in the late 1870’s. He continued to operate this yard until 1885 when L. Gilchrist became Center Point’s chief lumber furnisher. The yard continued under his ownership until 1919 when it was sold to Edward Wirsching, Levi C. Eastman, and W. W. Holman. Edward sold his interest in the business to the remaining two partners in 1931 and Howard Holman, the son of W. W. Holman, was appointed manager of the yard. In the winter of 1938, Eastman sold his interest in the partnership to Holman.

Lumber yard operated by L. Gilchrist 1885 until 1919.

Money was very tight in the early days of the Depression. One year the business paid more for purchasing inventory than sales.

The work in the lumberyard involved a lot of heavy lifting. Lumber and cement were brought into town by railroad. In the early days, the ninety-four pound sacks of cement were unloaded by hand, sack-by-sack. First the sacks were moved from the boxcar to the truck. Then the sacks were moved from the truck to a place in the yard or to the customer.

Howard Holman used to see how quickly he could unload the cars. His incentive was minimizing the fees that were paid to the railroad. The fees were based on the length of time the railroad car was standing on the track. Later, the yard acquired a roller from the car to the truck.

Howard’s dogs including Major, a Saint Bernard, and Ike and Winnie, English Bulldogs, were frequent visitors at the yard. The customers’ favorite pet was Jack, a Boston Terrier. They enjoyed watching Jack jump into nail kegs to retrieve marked nails.

Center Point Lumber Yard in the 1960s. Operated by Howard Holman from 1938 to 1970.

Center Point Lumber Co.

Howard’s son, Dick, became a full time employee at the yard in 1951 after leaving the Navy. In January 1952, Dick became a partner with Howard. Dick became the manager after Howard retired in 1966. The yard was sold in 1970 and renamed Stimson Lumber Yard. The building is now the location of the Greiner Well Drilling business.

—Mary Holman