The history of lumbering in Arizona before World War II Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Matheny, Robert Lavesco, 1933- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 12:59:26 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/565344 THE HISTORY OF LUMBERING IN ARIZONA BEFORE WORLD WAR II by Robert Lavesco Matheny A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 7 5 Copyright 1975 Robert Lavesco Matheny THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by ____________ Robert Lavesco Matheny_________________ entitled _________ The History of Lumbering in Arizona___________ _________________ before World War II___________________ be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of ________________ Doctor of Philosophy__________________ . Xic, Dissertation Director Date After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library, Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: ajJjb&ct> @ 1975 ROBERT LAVESCO MATHENY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DEDICATED TO SANDRA iii PREFACE Lumbering was Arizona's first manufacturing industry. Begun during the Civil War years to service military construction and booming mining towns, it expanded greatly in the 1880's with the building of transcontinental and short line railroads within the territory. By the turn of the century, competing companies vied for both domestic and regional markets, and industry diversification had appeared. After weathering declining markets and struggling against government controls, the Arizona lumber industry by World War II reached a crossroad. The Arizona lumber industry has received little attention from historians. This has been due primarily to the overshadowing role of mining, irrigated farming, and livestock in the state's economy— and to a lesser extent to the state's image as a land of desert and cactus. Yet the lumber business, although relatively insignificant nationally, contributed greatly to Arizona's growth. It provided hundreds with employment, buoyed up the frontier economy through payrolls and taxes, and generated new money for circulation by exporting to outside markets. This study will describe and assess the development of the lumber industry in Arizona during the eighty years from the Civil War to World War II. After the war, the iv V character of the industry changed as wood products (plywood, chipboard, paper), which utilized the abundance of available low grade lumber, became a major aspect of the Arizona lumber trade. The principal company during this period was the Arizona Lumber & Timber Company, with headquarters in Flagstaff, so the story will focus on its dominant role in the industry. As the parent company in Arizona the AT & L provides a mirror, a yardstick, and a line of continuity for understanding the problems and successes of the lumber business throughout the state. Studying the AL & T and its competitors furnishes insight into the unique problems en­ countered in launching lumber operations in a remote area with limited forest lands, and into the way lumbermen re­ solved their difficulties and made their industry a success. The result, in a sense, is a study of entrepreneurial management, of ruthless competition, and of cooperation to gain viable freight rates and liberal forest controls, and to provide a united front to combat the demands of organized labor. Hopefully, this study will shed light on a variety of questions. What are the managerial problems attendant to establishing an industry on an arid frontier? What role did the railroad play in the development of the lumber industry? What attitude did residents of Arizona take toward lumber companies that threatened to destroy the vi forest? What role did the federal government occupy in regulating and perpetuating the industry? What markets were available to Arizona lumber companies and how successfully did they compete for these markets? How did management adapt to changing circumstances with regard to markets, labor, railroads, and government control? Was the Arizona lumber industry a profitable venture? The research for this study was undertaken in various depositories. The voluminous records of the AL & T are housed in the Special Collections Division of the Northern Arizona Library, and include more than one-half million pieces of correspondence, ledgers, sales books, payroll records, and miscellaneous materials. Smaller lumber collections such as the Saginaw & Manistee Lumber Company records, the Greenlaw Lumber Company records, and the T. E. Pollock Papers, offer rich insight into the development of other firms and their contribution to the industry. Extensive research also was pursued in forest, Indian, and general land office records at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Sincere gratitude is expressed to Professor Harwood P. Hinton for the direction of this dissertation. His un­ failing patience and guidance, and his constructive criti­ cism truly made this study a learning experience. For his encouragement and help I am deeply appreciative. I also thank Professors Herman E. Bateman and Roger L. Nichols for vii serving on my committee and for the sacrifice they made to bring the study to a completion. It would be impossible to list all the people to whom I owe thanks. Many contributed their time and knowledge to make my research pleasurable. I must, however, mention Mr. John Irwin, and the staff at the Northern Arizona University Library. As Director of Special Collections, Mr. Irwin was most cooperative in making material available to me and in spending additional hours at work that I might use the materials. I owe thanks to Mr. Robert Chambers and his late wife Mary, the daughter of T. A. Riordan, for allowing me the use of materials in their pos­ session. My entire family has been most helpful. My wife Sandra gave me the encouragement and help to see the study through to completion and my daughters Nelda and Monica spent many hours in assisting me. Finally, I owe my thanks to Mrs. Miriam Payne, who dedicated many hours of her time to typing this thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .............. .. ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............................... x ABSTRACT............................................. xi CHAPTER 1 1. INTRODUCTION.................. 1 2. EARLY LUMBERING IN ARIZONA ................. 10 3. THE AYER LUMBER COMPANY ............ 46 4. MARKETING ARIZONA LUMBER . ................ 90 5. RISING COMPETITION ................ 125 6. THE UNITED STATES VERSUS AYER LUMBER COMPANY . 172 7. ARIZONA LUMBERMEN AND CONSERVATION...... , 198 8. LUMBERING IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS 224 9. THE WAR YEARS AND A F T E R ............... 256 10, ARIZONA LUMBERMEN AND THE NEW DEAL 302 11, FROM NRA TO WORLD WAR II , 330 12, CONCLUSION , . , ................................. 364 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY .............. 379 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1, National Forests and Reserves Established in Arizona, 1893-1908 ...................... 201 ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Sawmill Areas and Railroads .......... 48 x ABSTRACT The lumber industry in Arizona began in the late 1850's to supply the construction needs of mines and military posts around Tubac. By 1864, lumbering activity centered around Prescott as mining developed in the Walker District. Sawmills produced lumber in the Huachuca and Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona when mining spread to that region in the late 1870's. Mormon missionary- settlers established the first sawmill in northern Arizona at Mormon Lake south of present Flagstaff in 1876. The pioneer period of lumbering, 1856-1880, was characterized by primitive methods of production and a restricted market. The lack of population and the absence of transportation limited the infant industry to local markets. The construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad across southern Arizona in 1878-1880 and the building of the Atlantic & Pacific line across northern Arizona between 1880-1882 revolutionized the industry. In southern Arizona, it brought competition from California lumber mills, which effectively destroyed the small sawmill industry. In northern Arizona, however, the railroad