Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1889-01-01

making hogsheads by hand, in thai
way somewhat supplying the ther
limited demand of the farmers and
warehousemen, lie then commenced
handling rough lumber for his broth
err, who had a saw.mill in the North
ern part of the county. After awhile
the demands for tobacco hogshead'
became so great that Mr.. Forbes got
hold of small engine TO aid him il
filling orders more promptly. Ther
it occurred to him that if he had 1
planning machine he might furnish
the builders with dressed lumber at I
reasonable profit So he negotiated
for that piece of machinery. Thu
one piece of machinery after another
was added until Mr.. Forbes, almost
before he knew 1t, had large estab
lishment. Then he commenced t
contract for the erection of re sidences
store rooms, etc. OF course this re
quired the employ ment of great
number of additional men and q
great amount of money, and Mr.
Forbes often met the "white ele
plant" in his march of progress; bu
nothing daunted, he always managed
to work himself out of the dilemmai
in which he of EN- found himself and
pushed his plans to consummation
10 do this required the most persis-
tent energy and perfect business tact
a full knowledge of all the details Of
a builders business, in order not to
lay himself liable to being Swamp
ed" by taking a contract for less than
it was actually worth. Mr.
Forbes, however, was equal to the
occasion, and was ablo to take a
"lock and key job" at reasonable
profit.
A great deal more could be written
Of the growth OF Mr.. Forbes bust
ness, but let us look at what it is to-
day. His establishment is one OF
the most extensive of its kind in Ken
lucky, The Building in which are
the fiji res, hardware, hogshead fac
tory and blacksmith shop on the
first floor, is splendid two tory
brick building, extending from Main
to Virginia streets. In the second
story are the wagon factory, paint
hop and storage rooms. Adjoining
The brick building are planers, saws
and turning lathes. Above ate the
quarters of the sash and door makers,
etc., etc and large number of diff
ferent kinds, of machines necessary
in the making Of any thing needed in
the complete finishing of house.
Mr.. Forbes appreciates the services
of skilled workman and never parts
with one as long as he can be retain
ed. lie has men now in his employ
who, when mere boys, first started
out TO make their own living.
With the exception ofthe ground on
which the Baptist Church stands, Mr.
Forbes occupies the whole square be-
tween Tenth and Eleventh streets
The lumber yard OH the lot adjoin-
ing his residence is piled high with
rough lumber on every available foot
of ground. The amount of rough
lumber in the yards can hardly be
Apprenticeship could be safely put
at million feet. Not long since he
bought the Brownell Planning Mills,
situated on railroad, between Thir-
teenth and Fourteenth streets. In
that building he stores his dressed
lumber. In the yards are several
hundred thousand feet of rough lum-
Der. We will say here that it is not
usual for planning mill men in large
cities, so we have been informed, TO
buy lumber in the rough and keep it
on hand until seasoned, but to buy
seasoned lumber in quantities need
ed from lumber men.
We have gone into the history OF
Mr. Forbes business from its infancy,
from the fact that he has, not TO men
ton the banks or warehousemen Of
the city, more capital invested than
any half dozen men, probably, in the
city. He employs 70 men generally,
and during the busy season 30 to leo
hands. He is now able to make 100
hogsheads per day. The Excelsior
Wagon, which is recognized all over
the country as one of the best manu-
featured wagons in the world, is one
of Mr.. Forbes epecialties and, though
manufacturing about 300 year, he
can hardly keep up with the demand
Mr.. Forbes, instead of buying his
builders hardware from local dealers,
as formerly, now keeps full line in
his hardware store. Es also deals
extensively in fertilizers and agricul-
tural machinery.
Mr.. Forbes is, without desiring to
say anything approaching flattery, a
man amongst thousand. The great
amount Of property he now owns has
been acquired by earnest, hard labor.
lie gives employment to a larger
number of hands than any other man
in the city. lie is naturally progress
slve. He is always ready TO go into
anything that will advance the best
interests of the city. lie was one of
the gentlemen associated with Judge
Landes in bringing the Ohio Valley
Railroad 10 Hopkinsvllle. The