The Coal Creek Lumber Company opened in 1905, with owners C. L. Brown, A. H. Brown and D. A. Clark. They built a sawmill and shingle mill at Chehalis, Lewis County, and their own railroad up Coal Creek to the logging camps. They operated their own crews and cut both fir and cedar. They soon earned a reputation for superior quality lumber and the railroads became good customers, as they needed strong wood for bridge timbers and car parts. During the depression. many mills closed but Coal Creek Lumber never missed a day, due in part to the railroad business.
Kinsey Brothers Photographs of the Lumber Industry, 1890-1945
