Due to the Great Fire of 1871, NHLA was unable to erect their own offices in 1898, therefore they first established themselves in a dimly lit office of the Chicago Hardwood Lumber Exchange, where the first meeting of the 37 founders took place on April 8, 1898. The cities represented at this meeting were Cincinnati, OH; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Minneapolis, MN; Memphis, TN; Cairo, IL; St. Louis, MO; and Racine, WI. This array of attendance showed the critical situation which was threatening the industry through lack of uniform grading rules.