Remembering Tuolumne...

By Joseph Celentano, Historical Research Committee

Internet E-mail: JCelentano@TuolumneMuseum.org

 

     [While the Historical Research Committee (HRC) was recently researching the museum’s archives of the West Side Lumber Company, the following interesting and detailed article was discovered in Marie Rozier’s correspondence folder.  It is an article written and signed by Mr. C.J. Spahn, Jr. in 1981.  It is reprinted here in its original form for historical documentation.] 

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     “Much is known about the early phases of the West Side Flume and Lumber Company.  Likewise, a great deal is known about the new group taking over in 1903 and the West Side Lumber Company.  However, a period from late 1900 to late 1903 seems to be hidden away in the unknown.  It is the purpose of this article to bring that period into the light and have it become a known part of the early days of lumbering in the Sierra’s. 

     “This narrative is based on conversation I had with my father and mother and on five letters written by Mr. J.T. Adams to his brother-in-law and business associate Mr. J.C. Collier.  All the above people have since passed away. 

     “Late in the final years of the 19th century, 1898 and 1899, two separate events occurred that seemingly had no connection, but the passage of time proved different.  At about that time, namely 1898 and 1899, a group of financiers and promoters from San Francisco, California, lead by Mr. Henry J. Crocker and Mr. William H. Crocker conceived the idea and started the promotion of a company that was supposed to develop the tourist trade for railroad and lumber industry in the western approaches of the Sierra Mountains.  Their base was Carters, California. 

     “At the same time many miles away, in Dubuque, Iowa, a sash and door mill known as Carr Ryder and Adams was realizing that their main source of timber was dwindling and were looking for alternatives. 

     “The question arises, why not Minnesota?  It may be because they could already see that this source was disappearing or as was frequently the case, the type of timber was not suitable to sash and door mill work, but was better suited for construction work, this often is the case in areas.  The question then arises regarding Idaho pines.  But it is more easily answered since at that time, 1898 and 1899, Idaho was just being developed, where as California was well known because of the gold strikes and the Carters area was right in the gold mining area. 

     “Carr Ryder and Adams sent their lumber buying and mill man, Mr. C.J. Spahn, out west and he finally arrived at Carters and looking over the West Side operation, saw they had a potential but were not properly developing it.  He, therefore, contacted his home office and Mr. J.T. Adams came out to look over the situation and he agreed.  A deal was made where by a group from Dubuque would try to correct the situation.

     “This group was made up of Mr. John T. Adams, General Manager; Mr. E.A. Blocklinger, Assistant General Manager; Mr. Charles J. Spahn, Superintendent; Mr. G. DeForest Rose, Assistant Superintendent; Mr. John Spahn in charge of the cutting room.   Also mentioned were Mr. August and Mr. Herman Kaufman.  From what I was told there were others whose names I do not have.  These men had considerable knowledge in the handling of pine lumber because Dubuque was a sawmill town for years and they were familiar with that type of wood. 

     “Consequently, sometime in late 1900 and early 1901, this group from Dubuque arrived in Carters and started to take over the operation.  In a letter I have postmarked July 27, 1901 in Dubuque, Iowa, the Carters postmark was destroyed on this envelope, and it was from Mr. Adams to Mr. Collier, who continued to operate the sash and door mill in Dubuque.  Mr. Adams states, “Charlie took hold here this morning and John is in cutting shop, both are happy and enthusiastic.  The Kaufman’s have been doing good work and we will make valuable men out of them for Carr Ryder and Adams”.  Mr. Adams will soon know what this stuff is costing us. 

     “This brings up the question of just how these Dubuque people came into the picture.  Miss Marie Rozier talked to me on Saturday P.M. June 20, 1981, and quoted to me an article she had just found to the point that Mr. Crocker had found that the operation of the sawmill was more than he realized and he contacted Mr. John T. Adams, and Mr. E.A. Blocklinger to come and help him out.  This is further confirmed by Mr. Adams letter of July 27, 1901 as follows:  “This is an awfully big proposition and I intend to enjoy it immensely for a while but I think we shall not want to make an investment.  If I didn’t stay here, however, a few months we would certainly lose our sugar pine connection and we can’t afford to do that at present even though I had to work for nothing”.  In a second letter dated at Carters July 24, 1901, which must have been written after the previous letter, Mr. Adams says, “Charlie is doing remarkable work here with the West Side proposition and John is tickled to death with the cutting shop and is taking a hold in great shape.  DeForest knows more than all the balance of the office force combined and is surprising me a good deal with his excellent judgment in the new matters we have to work out”. 

     “The operation continued, Mr. Spahn brought out his family and built a home for his wife and two daughters.  The house still stands and is owned by Mrs. Fred Ellis.  [HRC NOTE: the Spahn house is the same white house at Carter and Bay, located across the street from the museum and is now owned by the TY Atkins family.]

     “The operation of the mill must have been successful and no more letters are available until 1903.  In one of these August 1903 letters Mr. Adams states, “The West Side matter looks very good”.  By that time, the post office had been changed and they are now postmarked Tuolumne.  The tone of these later letters is such that a change is about to take place.  Things look good; however, there is talk of the local group going other places.  This is noted in two letters, August 27, 1903 and another of August 29, 1903.  One change is noticed and that is the name of the company has been changed from the West Side Flume and Lumber Company to the West Side Lumber Company and there are new officers.  In the first of the two above-mentioned letters, it states that Charlie Spahn and Deforest Rose are to run a new business as a branch of Carr Ryder and Adams and again in the second letter the two men are brought up again as running a branch for Carr Ryder and Adams. 

     “Finally on September 7, 1903, a letter from Mr. Adams to Mr. Collier on Palace Hotel stationery states how bad his hay fever is, and believes it is because of the closing days of the West Side deal.  This is when the group from Michigan took over, and verifies what is mentioned in the previous paragraph about the new letterhead and new officers. 

     “Most of the Dubuque people returned to Dubuque.  Mr. Spahn and Mr. Rose formed a new company in 1904 known as Spahn & Rose Lumber Company.  They were however in the retail end serving the farmers and homeowners. 

     “Mr. Adams came back to Carr Ryder and Adams and was the President until his death in 1939. 

     “Mr. John Spahn and the two Kaufman’s came back to Carr Ryder & Adams.  And in 1929 through 1935, I personally know were foremen of the three cutting rooms for Carr Ryder & Adams.  Of the named people, Mr. Blocklinger was the only one who remained in California.  I met him in Dubuque in the early 1930’s and he was operating his own sawmill. 

     “To further verify that these several men together with other unnamed people from Dubuque were called out to Tuolumne, to set the mill operation on a profitable basis, is the fact that they all left when the new people took over, had they financial interest, they would have stayed or at least some of them, and I do not believe the new group would have wanted to break up a successful operating team.

     “Therefore, it must be assumed that back in 1901 when they first took over, it was with the understanding that they would turn the operation into a profitable business case since Mr. Spahn was only twenty-nine years old when he took over and Mr. Rose was twenty-two years old and neither of them were men of financial means.  Still in 1904 after the sale, they returned to Dubuque and together with Mr. Adams, Mr. Collier, Mr. Carr and Mr. Blocklinger started the Spahn & Rose Lumber Company.”

 

[HRC NOTE:  The Spahn & Rose Lumber Company is still in existence in Dubuque:  www.SpahnAndRose.com. 

 

Carr Ryder & Adams has changed management several times and is now known as the Eagle Window Company, in Dubuque:   www.EagleWindow.com.]

 

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