The Birth of the Skagit County Shingle Manufacturers' Association
Twelve local mills consolidate their power at Woolley, promising to fix prices and secure state-level influence.
A meeting of shingle men was held at Woolley to organize the Skagit County Shingle Manufacturers' Association. Twelve mills were represented, including the Burlington Manufacturing Company, the Mount Vernon Shingle Lumber Company, and the Cedar Lumber and Shingle Company. The association's objective is to act in conjunction with the state association and strictly hold to association prices. P. A. Woolley was elected president. A committee was appointed to draft by-laws and recommend a representative to sell the county's products in the East.
“There was a universal expression on the part of those present in favor of maintaining a state and county organization and strictly holding to association prices.”
This organization represents the classic Pacific Northwest 'booster' period, where the timber economy attempted to formalize its market control through regional associations. The site of the meeting, Woolley, would eventually merge to become modern Sedro-Woolley.
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