The Lumber Glut of 1889
A historic surplus of timber in Seattle reveals the rapid expansion of early mill infrastructure and the cooling of the local market.
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.
The local demand is not consuming all the lumber being cut by our mills. True, the demand is unprecedented, but daily stocks in lumber yards are increasing. The Oregon Improvement company is carrying nearly 1,500,000 feet in stock, and Stetson & Post an amount nearly as great. These stocks are daily growing larger. The reason for this is not to be found in any diminution in the demand, but in the vastly increased facilities for cutting lumber over last season. Further, the competition between our mills and small outside mills is keener, and this season no lumber whatever is being shipped out of Seattle. The cut for the week approaches very closely to the figure 1,500,000 feet, one-third of which is dressed. Mr. Thomas Johnson's mill at Smith's Cove, with a cutting capacity of 50,000 feet, has begun operations. It is understood that Mr. Johnson will increase his capacity within a few months to 100,000 feet. Logs have grown more plentiful during the past week, the logging season having nearly opened up.
“The reason for this is not to be found in any diminution in the demand, but in the vastly increased facilities for cutting lumber over last season.”
In 1889, Seattle's economy was already grappling with the boom-bust cycle of the timber industry, where high production capacity frequently outpaced actual consumption—a precursor to the modern market volatility and housing supply debates that define the city's current growth pains.
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