Lumber not blood runs in Hoquiam's veins it fueled everything from the very start. It was their chief industry, it was the main employer and it was what made the town what is today. Logging was the life of the city since time immemorial. How Hoquiam City did come to be, how did it get to be the historical lumber giant it was so famous for before?
Even the name of the camp was about the business of wood and surprisingly the term Hoquiam came from people who came before the woodsmen, the Native Americans described how they saw the river hundreds if not thousands of years into their generations "Hungry for wood" and as they so eloquently put it, the arrival of these white men signaled that the river and the just newly established settlement would be infinitely hungrier than ever before.
People began slowly to rush in after the 1850's and then after a great rush of timber men and family run operations were establishing themselves all around the Grays Harbor watersheds and inner timber forest. Others were more prepared than some while a few were well financed and led by men who knew how to make a profit. Some of these men, like the owners of the Lumber and Shingle Company Robert and Joseph Lytle quickly and meticulously made their wealth. In just a few years their foresight and strong personalities and deep pockets made them into so called lumber barons, their cedar shingle manufacturing business was the largest in the world and their introduction and ownership of an electric sawmill, the first of its kind in the entire area gave them a definite advantage. Other players went into the fray with the Grays Harbor Lumber Company securing their interest and fueled by unwavering hunger for lumber and wood products for the powerful Northern Pacific Railroad.
As rich and powerful were the Lytle brothers and the other companies who were subsidiaries of even bigger companies in other industries, none can match the tenacity and unrelenting growth of Alex Polson and his brothers. In just a few years, the Polson's controlled if not owned much of the prime real estate and timber interest in and around Grays Harbor area, with opulent mansions and thousands of employees to prove that they were the biggest.
In 1891, the Lytle brothers Joseph and Robert joined their interest with the Polson Brothers Logging Company, which 12 years later after joining again with another big player the Merill and Ring Corporation was established as the Polson Logging Company, a true industrial giant of that era.
The lumber barons had it all, but the richness of the lands of Grays Harbor was so vast that there was room for everybody to try and make a profit. More than 300 other small logging and milling operations dotted the Grays harbor landscape and even hundreds more of different trade and service type concerns were establish to support the thousands of men who needed anything and everything under the sun.
Logging is the town's history and heritage and will continue to be in the near future. It is what gives the residents their affable character and their love for tenacity and perseverance it is a place that will always be hungry for wood. - 39815
Even the name of the camp was about the business of wood and surprisingly the term Hoquiam came from people who came before the woodsmen, the Native Americans described how they saw the river hundreds if not thousands of years into their generations "Hungry for wood" and as they so eloquently put it, the arrival of these white men signaled that the river and the just newly established settlement would be infinitely hungrier than ever before.
People began slowly to rush in after the 1850's and then after a great rush of timber men and family run operations were establishing themselves all around the Grays Harbor watersheds and inner timber forest. Others were more prepared than some while a few were well financed and led by men who knew how to make a profit. Some of these men, like the owners of the Lumber and Shingle Company Robert and Joseph Lytle quickly and meticulously made their wealth. In just a few years their foresight and strong personalities and deep pockets made them into so called lumber barons, their cedar shingle manufacturing business was the largest in the world and their introduction and ownership of an electric sawmill, the first of its kind in the entire area gave them a definite advantage. Other players went into the fray with the Grays Harbor Lumber Company securing their interest and fueled by unwavering hunger for lumber and wood products for the powerful Northern Pacific Railroad.
As rich and powerful were the Lytle brothers and the other companies who were subsidiaries of even bigger companies in other industries, none can match the tenacity and unrelenting growth of Alex Polson and his brothers. In just a few years, the Polson's controlled if not owned much of the prime real estate and timber interest in and around Grays Harbor area, with opulent mansions and thousands of employees to prove that they were the biggest.
In 1891, the Lytle brothers Joseph and Robert joined their interest with the Polson Brothers Logging Company, which 12 years later after joining again with another big player the Merill and Ring Corporation was established as the Polson Logging Company, a true industrial giant of that era.
The lumber barons had it all, but the richness of the lands of Grays Harbor was so vast that there was room for everybody to try and make a profit. More than 300 other small logging and milling operations dotted the Grays harbor landscape and even hundreds more of different trade and service type concerns were establish to support the thousands of men who needed anything and everything under the sun.
Logging is the town's history and heritage and will continue to be in the near future. It is what gives the residents their affable character and their love for tenacity and perseverance it is a place that will always be hungry for wood. - 39815
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