Red River Lumber Company’s Westwood Box Factory, 1915.One hundred years ago, the major component of the lumber mills was the box factory. It is rather a misnomer, since what was actually manufactured was box shook. Box shook were the various sized wooden slats that are used to make wooden crates, which was how the nation’s fruits and vegetables were then shipped. The shook was shipped to packing houses were they were assembled. To understand the enormity the amount of lumber used to make these boxes, was that during the early 1930s of the great depression over half of lumber produced in the United States was used for box shook. It was not until after World War II that the cardboard box would slowly become the preferred shipping container. In the future we will explore this topic further.
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At one time the Westwood Mill of the Red River (Fruit Growers) Lumber Company had the most dry kilns and the largest drying capacity of any company in the world.
At one time the Westwood Mill of the Red River (Fruit Growers) Lumber Company had the most dry kilns and the largest drying capacity of any company in the world.