The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-02-18
The History Of the Cedar Shingles

The Puget Lumber Co., of Port
Gamble, Wash, once held the key to
the red cedar shingle business of the
State of Washington, but lost it. Ac-
cording to B. S. Miller, The company
manufactured the first red cedar shin
giles cut in this state. This was in
1868. Of course split shingles were
sold before that time, but the first
machine sawed shingles didn't turn
mp until the year mentioned. During
an unguarded moment the company
bought an upright machine, intend
ing, of course, to revolutionize the
trade, but somehow the scheme didn't
work satisfactorily. Mr.. Miller and
Ed Stetson, deceasdd, brother of George
w., Horatio and Leroy, all members
of the Stetson & Post Mill Co., of to-
day, operated the machine. The day
the shingle mill first started cutting
was an eventful one in the history Of
the Puget Lumber Co., although it is
not on record that Cyrus Walker, the
manager, or Michael Drew, the super
lntendent, lost much sleep over the
affair. But-with a capital B-the
split shingle men thought it was an
occasion of life time, because they
did not believe for a moment that
sawed shingles would sell, and they
were right in this instance, as will be
noticed later on. The machine was of
the Huntington make and had a ca,
pacity of 10000 per day. The inten-
tlon of the Puget Lumber Co. was to
sell the outfut in foreign ports, but it
proved failure. No one wanted saw
ed shingles, and after trying for one
year to give the shingles away the
machine was finally taken out.
Since 1868, when the Puget Lumber
Co. manufactured sawed shingles, the
shingle industry has m ade marvellous
strides. From one shingle mill the
number has increased to POI, and from
a yearly output of probably 100000
the output increased to 3,000,000,000.
But the introduction of the red cedar
article was slow.
In the year 1898 there were 234
shingle mills, representing an aggre-
gate daily capacity of 100000 shin
giles, and the shipments aggregated
847 100000 shingles, or 6,053 car loads.
The price for Sass ranged from $125
to $150. During the winter of 1893
"a prices dropped another notch, and
in the spring of 1894 another shinl le
association was formed in order to
maintain fair prices. This was sue
cessful for awhile, 'inasmuch as the
mill men were compelled to put up a
bond, but the association soon found
that there were enough mills on the
outside to supply the trade, and one
day the association gave up the ghost.
During the winter OF that year one
large mill, in order to teach the price
cutters lesson, put th e price down to
80 cents. Inside of two months this
became the established price, and up
to the present year, in spite of tie
greatly increased demand, the open
ing prices have fuctuated from 90
cents to $105. This year. the price for
*A*'s opens at $1.30, with no stocks
on hand.
Notwithstanding its many ups and
downs the shingle demand has grown
increasingly and has now grown to
enormous proportions. This is ascer-
tanned by the rail shipment since 1889
when the eastern trade pra ctlcally
began. The figures are as follows:
1889, 945 cars; 1890, 2,1OO; 1891, 81,
800; 1892, 6,341; 1898, 6,053; 1894,
1O,975; 1895, 1z,710; 1896, 14,194
1897, II ,S73; total, 1891 Decrease
in 1893 due to railroad strike. This
represents the enormous total of H.
OS3, $4,000 pieces, or enough to cover
the roofs of 100000 houses. 1t also
represents 1921 100000 feet of logs
and bolts cut into shingles. In esti-
mating the value of these shipments,
$1.3O per 1000 is used as basis, which
cvers the higher price of "Clears,"
"Periections," aad other grades, while
it. also takes in the huctuation from
year to year. This total of Sl4
745 contributed to the wealth OF the
State of Washington. At the same
time the railroad received in addition
an estimated amount of $11 $40 ,342
for freight, which swells the total to
S26, ,379, OS7. And the shingle trade
is only nine years old.-Pacific Lum-
Der Trade Journal.