1928 - Alderson High School - 1968

In   1906   the   Commonwealth   Lumber   Company   of   Pennsylvania,   started operating   at   Glen   Ray,   west   of   Alderson   between   the   C.   &   O.   Rail-way and   the   Greenbrier.   Commonwealth   built   the   village   of   Glen   Ray   of twenty   houses,   a   store,   a   boarding   house   and   a   barn.   Three   well- known   carpenters,   Emmett   Taylor,   Gilbert   Miller   and   Matt   Kershner   with helpers,   built   the   town. A   six-foot   Clark   band   mill,   the   first   in   this   part   of the   state,   was   built   and   was   capable   of   producing   35,000   board   feet   of lumber   a   day.   Then   the   company   built   a   bridge   across   the   Greenbrier and   started   a   standard   gauge   railroad   to   haul   the   logs   to   the   mill.   They had   three   engines,   one   Climax   and   two   Shays.   Eventually,   there   were twenty-five   miles   of   railroad   going   up   Griffith’s   Creek   and   winding   all   over   Keeney’s   Mountain.   A   Mr.   West was   the   first   superintendent   who   supervised   all   of   the   first   building.   He   was   followed   by   Harry   Curl.   Mr. Elbert Taylor started as water boy on the railroad. (The above photo is a picture of early Glen Ray) At   the   same   time,   C.   B.   Thompson   of   Columbus,   Ohio,   built   a   mill   in   Glen   Ray   known   as   C.   B.   Thompson Lumber   Co.   Commonwealth   had   a   contract   with   Thompson   to   furnish   hickory   timbers   to   make   wagon wheels   and   wagon   parts.   Commonwealth   did   not   have   enough   hickory   to   fulfill   the   contract   and   went   into receivership about 1911 to avoid damages and void the contract. About   1912   a   new   company   started   operation,   Glen   Ray   Lumber   Company,   which   was   essentially   the   same company   as   Commonwealth,   operated   by   the   same   management   and   ownership.   Some   of   the   bosses   were "Dad"   Briggs,   superintendent,   "Dad"   Eastman   who   was   mill   foreman   and   who   was   succeeded   by   John Rossey.   John   Hughart   was   yard   foreman.   The   first   store   manager   was   Mr.   Brewer,   followed   by   Carl McLaughlin.   Archie   Parmenter,   an   Englishman,   was   bookkeeper.   Elbert   Taylor   became   a   timber   cutter   and was promoted to superintendent of the woods and the railroad. Glen   Ray   Lumber   Company   had   about   one   hundred   men   working.   The   standard   wage   was   $1.00   per   day for   laborers   and   higher   pay   for   skilled   workers.   The   Company   also   operated   a   lath   mill   producing   plastering laths. All   lumber   was   shipped   by   C.   &   O.,   mostly   to   flooring   plants   in   Pennsylvania.   Some   was   exported   via Newport News, Virginia. Much of the export timber was 5" by 3" to build docks.   One   huge   log,   a   white   oak,   was   nearly   six   feet   at   the   butt   and   from   it   was   cut   1696   board   feet   of   lumber.     Glen   Ray   Lumber   Company   quit   when   the   timber   was   depleted   in   1915.   One   virgin   stand   of   timber   of   about 250   acres   on   the   head-   waters   of   Lick   Creek   was   not   accessible   and   is   still   there,   said   to   be   owned   now   by J. B. Belcher and Son’s Lumber Company. Another   sizable   lumber   operation   that   operated   in Alderson   was   owned   by   Frank   N.   Mann.   It   started   about 1892   and   was   the   F.   N.   Mann   Sash,   Door   and   Moulding   Company.   Within   three   years   the   business employed thirty men and by 1906 employed sixty men. This   mill   made   fine   inside   trim   of   locally   purchased   timber,   much   of   it   cherry.   Most   of   its   finest   products   were shipped   to   the   Empire   City   Woodworking   Company   of   New   York   City.   Production   was   about   a   railroad carload per week. The   mill’s   first   foreman   was   Sol   Faust   from   Pennsylvania,   and   the   first   bookkeeper   was   Guy   Stulting, followed by Fred Faust.  The   mill   burned   March   10,   1910,   and   Mr.   Mann   moved   to   Huntington   where   he   was   given   a   site   to   erect another   mill   called   Huntington   Sash,   Door   and   Trim   Company.   The   site   of   the   old   mill   was   sold   to   J.   J.   Tait who rebuilt the mill and ran it for several years.

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Glen Ray & Lumber From The History Of Alderson

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Glen   Ray,   or   Glenray,   WV.   I've   seen   it   both   ways.   On   Google   maps   it   will   find   it   using   both   spellings,   but   it doesn't   list   the   name   over   the   area   that   is   Glenray-Glen   Ray.   There   is   a   road,   listed   on   Google   maps, called   Glen   Ray   Road,   that   circles   around   the   edge   of   Glen   Ray   (my   personal   preference)   If   the   road   was named   after   the   town,   why   the   different   spelling.   When   the   community   was   built,   there   is   information   that says   it   was   named   after   two   sons   of   the   builders   named   Glen   and   Ray.   We   may   never   know   the   correct spelling.