Ferry (Michigan) Lumber Co. (1890-1894)

Intro here please

The first mill to be built at the far end of the waterfront was the Ferry Lumber Co. (also known as the Michigan Lumber Co.). Thomas White Ferry, a senator from Michigan, and his brother Edward P. Ferry (from Utah) were kin to Washington’s governor Elisha P. Ferry.

The Ferry brothers decided to build a mill in Tacoma—a “boomtown” in the late 1880s; they purchased property from Allen C. Mason (on the shore near what is today the foot of Cheyenne Street and Ruston Way). It was a bold venture; its cost ran upwards of $300,000 when finished —a staggering figure for the times. It was to rival the great Tacoma Mill Co. by turning out more than 1.5 million board feet of lumber per day—including a full facility for shingle manufacturing on a large scale; it was built to be managed by Robert Caithness.

Like many other mills of the early 1890s, it apparently flourished—until the depression of 1893—then in 1894 went bankrupt. (Thomas Ferry was a successful politician but did not do well in business). The mill’s machinery was removed, and the mill was abandoned.

The depression of ’93 was devastating to larger companies like the Ferry Mill, since so much had been invested; and the great work force of more than 100 men suddenly had no jobs.

Nerheim, J. N.. The History of Lumber Mills in Old Town. Tacoma, WA. Self-published, 2004.