History: The Custom Lumber Company (History of Abbotsford) 
 

Poster: Marla Zwakman 
 

Email: dzwakman@msn.com

 
Surnames: Wing, Lamb, Brown, Young, Strebe, Hoffman

----Source: Abbotsford Tribune (Abbotsford, Clark County, Wis.) 07/08/1954 
 

History of Abbotsford – The Custom Lumber Company By F. B. Wing 
 

During the early 1900’s, C. E. Lamb built a saw mill, about one-half mile east of the county line and south of the ANE track; part of this land is now the dumping ground. This mill would saw barn timber forty feet in length. Later he added a planing mill. Mr. Lamb ran the mill until 1909, selling to Charles Brown, who operated it for three years before selling it to George Strebe. 
 

The Abbotsford Bank owned some lots and mill equipment at Dorchester. They disposed of this property to A. J. Young, who traded it to George Strebe for his mill at Abbotsford. George Strebe owned timber, located near Goodrich and moved his mill from Dorchester to Goodrich. Mr. Young, with the aid of C. W. Hoffman, an experienced lumber and mill man, put the mill in good working condition. Young and Hoffman then formed a corporation, the Custom Lumber Company. They graded the land, making the roadbed for a side track leading from the ANE track to the mill, furnished and laid the ties and the railroad company furnished the switch and the rails. The Custom Lumber Company obtained logs locally for a time, then had logs shipped in from Whittelsey. They loaded the saw dust in box cars. It was purchased by a St. Paul firm, f.o.b. Abbotsford. The Custom Lumber Company received $20 a car for the sawdust. They sold hardwood slabs at the mill for 50 cents a cord. The hardwood slab is from trees that have leaves, while trees with needles produce soft wood, like the pine tree. 
 

The Custom Lumber Company operated during the winters of 1914, 1915, and 1916, running the planing mill in the summer time. The mill burned to the ground, Sept. 1, 1916, without a cent of insurance. The lumber piles 200 feet from the mill were insured. One carload of finished lumber, which was close to the mill, burned without insurance. The insurance rate on mill property was so high that it would not pay the company to insure it. 
 

Having a large stock of lumber at the mill, the Custom Lumber Company bought the lumber shed from the *** Note: The rest of the article was cut off and was not available at the time of transcription.