Atlantic Coast Lumber Company
Encyclopedia
The company was formed in 1899 when the potential value of the vast amounts of standing timber
in the Pee Dee River
watershed was discovered by a group of Northern lumbermen. Options were taken by the company on this timber and that of surrounding
counties. A large sawmill
was built west of the city of Georgetown and production began. In 1903, the company was
incorporated with a capital of one million dollars.
The mill was expanded through the years, and included three separate sawmills, two shipping wharves, several warehouses,
and numerous other buildings, including workers' houses, stores, a hotel, a church, etc. The company owned all of
these buildings, making the area immediately surrounding the mill a veritable "company town
", (see photo below). In 1913,
a disastrous fire destroyed two of the sawmills. A new steel and concrete mill was erected within ten months. At peak
production, the company could produce 600,000 board feet (1,400 m³) of lumber per day and was properly proclaimed "the largest
lumber manufacturing plant on the Atlantic Coast." Due to the effects of the Great Depression
, the plant was closed in
1932.
It was a major undertaking to move millions of tons of rock to the two barrier islands at the entrance to the harbor and
build "jetties" of over 11,000 feet on the north and 21, 000 feet on the south entrance of the bay, with steam and sail
power. A dredge
was built to maintain a channel and, coupled with the railway and the river system, the lumber
business
flourished. Mills sprang up almost overnight. The Atlantic Coast Lumber Company was the largest in the world with its
5,000,000 board foot (12,000 m³) dock and shed. Turpentine
, pine
rosin
, shingles
, furniture - but none as unusual as the DuPont wood alcohol and dynamite
mill.
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
in the Pee Dee River
Pee Dee River
The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in North Carolina and South Carolina. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course above the mouth of the Uwharrie River is known as the Yadkin River. It is extensively dammed for flood...
watershed was discovered by a group of Northern lumbermen. Options were taken by the company on this timber and that of surrounding
counties. A large sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
was built west of the city of Georgetown and production began. In 1903, the company was
incorporated with a capital of one million dollars.
The mill was expanded through the years, and included three separate sawmills, two shipping wharves, several warehouses,
and numerous other buildings, including workers' houses, stores, a hotel, a church, etc. The company owned all of
these buildings, making the area immediately surrounding the mill a veritable "company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
", (see photo below). In 1913,
a disastrous fire destroyed two of the sawmills. A new steel and concrete mill was erected within ten months. At peak
production, the company could produce 600,000 board feet (1,400 m³) of lumber per day and was properly proclaimed "the largest
lumber manufacturing plant on the Atlantic Coast." Due to the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the plant was closed in
1932.
It was a major undertaking to move millions of tons of rock to the two barrier islands at the entrance to the harbor and
build "jetties" of over 11,000 feet on the north and 21, 000 feet on the south entrance of the bay, with steam and sail
power. A dredge
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
was built to maintain a channel and, coupled with the railway and the river system, the lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
business
flourished. Mills sprang up almost overnight. The Atlantic Coast Lumber Company was the largest in the world with its
5,000,000 board foot (12,000 m³) dock and shed. Turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
rosin
Rosin
.Rosin, also called colophony or Greek pitch , is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene components. It is semi-transparent and varies in color from yellow to black...
, shingles
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
, furniture - but none as unusual as the DuPont wood alcohol and dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
mill.