Minnesota Lumber Industry Case Study
In 1890 Weyerhaeuser and his parents purchased more than 200,000 acres of timberland in the central part of the state. He eventually expanded his business in Minnesota to sawmills and small railroad lines. This gave him power over every step of the lumbering process so he could tightly control costs and profits. By 1900 more than 400 lumber companies including several belonged to Weyerhaeuser were operating in the state and Minnesota ranked third in the nation in lumber production. Towns and cities throughout the Midwest were built using Minnesota lumber.
The lumber industry relied on the same basic essentials as the flour industry. Investment from business owners such as Weyerhaeuser was combined with natural resources machines and people. Though logging in Minnesota had begun in the late 1830s it wasn't until the 1880s that lumber companies started making major investments to cut down trees and produce lumber on a large scale.
The lumber industry relied on the same basic essentials as the flour industry. Investment from business owners such as Weyerhaeuser was combined with natural resources machines and people. Though logging in Minnesota had begun in the late 1830s it wasn't until the 1880s that lumber companies started making major investments to cut down trees and produce lumber on a large scale.