The End of an Era for Dayton's Timber
After twenty years of supplying local lumber, a veteran mill operator packs up for the Coast as the region’s timber supply dwindles.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On the verge of forsaking the Dayton district with his saw mill plant for the Sound country, C. M. Grupe is in Walla Walla today negotiating for the sale of a large amount of equipment, including horses, wagons, and general milling supplies. His big milling plant, which has been located on the Hadley Mountain above Dayton for several years, has been torn down and is packed ready for shipment to the Sound. The point located for the new plant is near Hoquiam where a big body of timber has been secured. Mr. Grupe has been in the saw mill business in and around Dayton for the past twenty years and is one of the veteran saw mill men of the state. Long before it became possible for the Sound and Oregon mills to compete in the Walla Walla market, the Dayton mill furnished the bulk of lumber for the local market. 'There is little timber in the mountains adjacent to Dayton that can be handled with profit,' Mr. Grupe said this morning. 'For that reason I have decided to enter the Sound field.'
“There is little timber in the mountains adjacent to Dayton that can be handled with profit.”
This story captures the transition of the Pacific Northwest from small, localized industrial operations to the consolidated, export-driven timber economy centered in Western Washington. As the inland forests were depleted, the industry migrated to the massive, old-growth stands near Hoquiam, a shift that permanently altered the economic landscape of rural Washington communities like Dayton.
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