Copeland Lumber Company records

Collection

Identifier: Coll 1147

Scope and Contents

Records of the Copeland Lumber Company of Portland, Oregon. The bulk of the records concerns properties that the company owned or leased and acquisitions of property and assets from other lumber companies. These records include correspondence, financial records, deeds, mortgages, and lease agreements. Properties represented in this collection were located in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, and Idaho. Other lumber companies represented in the collection include the Hammond-California Redwood Company and the McCready Lumber Company. In addition to company records, the collection includes two sets of instructions and a related memo, as well as price lists for paints sold by the Walter N. Boysen Company, which sold its paints in Copeland lumberyards.

Dates

Creation: 1923-1971

Creator

Copeland Lumber Company (Portland, Or.) (Organization)

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.

Administrative History

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Copeland Lumber Company was founded in 1913 in Portland, Oregon. Its first president was Joseph Copeland (1852-1924). In 1926, Copeland's son, Joseph W. Copeland (1886-1978) became the firm's president. Under his tenure, the company grew to include 83 lumberyards in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, and Idaho. Copeland resigned in 1973, turning over the presidency to his daughter, Helen Jo Whitsell (born 1938). Whitsell was named among Working Woman magazine's top 50 women executives in 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1999. For many smaller communities in Oregon, Copeland was the only major supplier of lumber and hardware for commercial builders and individuals. In April 1999, Whitsell announced that she would sell the company's assets. The firm's last 15 lumberyards were sold to Keith Brown Building Materials of Salem, Oregon, in 2000.

Sources: Obituary for Joseph Copeland, Oregonian, March 10, 1924, page 16; "Biz Parade: Veteran Lumberman Decides to Step Down," Oregon Journal, July 3, 1973, page 7; "Family will sell Copeland Lumber," by Fred Leeson, Oregonian, April 22, 1999, page B1; "Copeland's CEO defies naysayers," by Tricia Duryee, Oregonian, May 4, 1999, page C3; "Copeland has buyer for its last 15 outlets," by Boaz Herzog, Oregonian, August 8, 2000, page B1; vital records via Ancestry.com.

Full Extent

2.03 Cubic Feet (4 legal document cases; 1 slim legal document case)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Records of Copeland Lumber Company of Portland, Oregon. Most records relate to the company's properties and acquisitions of companies and lumberyards in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Nevada. These include correspondence, financial records, and property records, such as title abstracts and lease agreements. The collection also includes instructional manuals. Copeland Lumber Company was founded in 1913 by Joseph Copeland (1852-1924); subsequent owners were Joseph W. Copeland (1886-1978) and Helen Jo Whitsell (born 1938). At one time, the firm had 83 lumberyards in five states. The last lumberyards belonging to Copeland Lumber were sold in 2000.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged with materials relating to other lumber companies in alphabetical order by company name, followed by other property and acquisition records in alphabetical order by lumberyard or location name, followed by compiled property information, then other materials.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Copeland Lumber Company, November 2000 (Lib. Acc. 24351).

Related Materials

Other materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to the Copeland Lumber Company include the Joseph W. Copeland and Helen Jo Whitsell scrapbook, Coll 1148; and the vertical files Lumbering companies and Portland - Business establishments - Retail stores - A-Ge.

Processing Information

Collection was processed by Jeffrey A. Hayes in 2026. Processing included unfolding and flattening records; removing instructions, compiled property information, and paint price lists from binders; and discarding published materials that were determined to have low relevance to Copeland Lumber Company or the lumber industry.