Portland Manufacturing Company

Collection

Identifier: Mss 837

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Typescript carbon copy of a document titled "Portland Manufacturing Company," by Thomas Autzen, 17 pages, dated January 29, 1953. The document discusses the company's history, operations, and growth, beginning with events leading to its incorporation in 1901 and covering the period until the time of the document's writing in 1953. Autzen also discusses a number of the company's employees.

Dates

Creation: 1953 January 29

Creator

Autzen, Thomas J., 1888-1958 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical note

Thomas J. Autzen was born in Hoquiam, Washington, in 1888. In 1902, his father, Peter Autzen, bought a stake in the Portland Manufacturing Company in Portland, Oregon, and later became sole owner of the business, a wood products mill that at first made furniture stock, box materials, and baskets, and grew into a significant Northwest supplier of veneer and plywood. Thomas Autzen began working for the company during summers, and after graduating from the Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in 1909, he joined the family business. He took over the company after Peter Autzen's death in 1918 and led the business for much of the rest of his life; he was chairman of the board at the time of his own death in 1958.

Sources: "Thomas J. Autzen" by Edwin Battistella, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/autzen_thomas_j_1888_1958_/#.YwUrcxzMJPY; obituary in the Oregonian, September 10, 1958.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder in shared box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Typescript carbon copy of a history, written by Thomas J. Autzen, of the Portland Manufacturing Company, a veneer and plywood business. The document discusses the company's history, operations, and growth, as well as many of its employees. Autzen (1888-1958) took over the company after the death of his father, Peter Autzen, in 1918, and led the business for much of his life.