1907 3
The Fisher Lumber Company was a short-lived lumber business in Oakland, started by George W. Fisher in 1904.
Fisher had formerly been a manager of the Puget Sound Land and Lumber Company for 19 years, but they closed their Oakland branch, so he started a new business. 1 Another article suggests he bought the assets of Puget Sound or another company that started in 1882. 8
The business was large and expanded over its short existence, 3 but by August 1911, Fisher was listed as "formerly of Fisher Lumber." 2 It's unknown whether they went out of business, or if Fisher sold it to another of the lumber companies in Oakland.
In the news
In 1908, 70 year old John Patterson went to the Central Savings Bank to cash a check and return with $1,300 in coin for the weekly payroll. A group of 3 thieves briefly stole the sack of money, but Patterson scared off the first and figured out what the second and third were up to, and thereby regained the cash. 4
Most deliveries were done by train or by horse-drawn wagon, though in 1905 they delivered 100,000 board feet of lumber to the Daniel Best Manufacturing Company in San Leandro using some of Best's equipment. A steam tractor pulled four heavily-laden trailers, and delivered the entire amount in one trip. 5
Delivering large loads of lumber was not a simple task. At least two newsworthy accidents occurred during the short span of business, including one where a locomotive smashed the wagon and much of the load. The driver and the horses were unhurt. 6,7
1904 ad
1905 5
Employees
| Name | Year(s) | Position |
| Aaron Berg | 1904 | foreman |
| Miss Lillie Lane | 1904 | stenographer |
| Edwin G. Hunt | 1904-1906 | salesman, collector |
| Walter W. Hunt | 1906-1910 | cashier and bookkeeper |
| Allen J. Lucas | 1904-1909 | bookkeeper, salsn(?) |
| Daniel W. McPherson | 1905-1906 | teamster |
| William H. Murphy | 1906 | employee |
|
James A. Smilie, Jr. (not the contractor) |
1904-1909 | clerk |
| John T. Patterson | 1908-1910 | clerk |
| J. Bacon | 1909 | tallyman (kept records?) |
| J.L. Bettencourt | 1909 | laborer |
| Aug Brast | 1909 | blacksmith |
| Vaughn Cooley | 1909 | clerk |
| J. Enos | 1909 | tallyman |
| J. Frates | 1909 | laborer |
| R. Galevia | 1909 | laborer |
| F. Gardener | 1909 | laborer |
| Frank Golden | 1909 | tallyman |
| F. Gould | 1909 | teamster |
| George Knapp | 1909 | clerk |
| H. Lang | 1909 | laborer |
| A. Lawrence | 1909 | laborer |
| Roy Matheny | 1909-1910 | tallyman, clerk |
| B. Mathewson | 1909 | laborer |
| David Mercer | 1909 | laborer |
| Edward Mulcahy | 1909 | laborer |
| J. O'Donnell | 1909 | laborer |
| F. Rhodes | 1909 | laborer |
| S. Ricker | 1909 | teamster |
| R. Robinson | 1909 | tallyman |
| John G. Rogers | 1909 | laborer |
| M. Sibrian | 1909 | laborer |
| T. Wilson | 1909 | teamster |
| Charles Buker | 1910 | teamster |
| Arthur B. Chapman | 1909-1910 | bookkeeper |
| Thomas B. C[??]dell | 1910 | foreman |
| George C. Douglass | 1910 | employee |
| Gustave A. Fruhe | 1909-1910 | clerk |
| Manuel B. Grace | 1910 | laborer |
| Hugh H. Hedrick | 1910 | employee |
| Henry T. Huggins | 1910 | clerk |
| Otis F. Johnson | 1909-1910 | clerk |
| Herschell G. Larrick | 1910 | clerk |
| Thomas Lewis | 1910 | hostler (took care of horses) |
| Gustave A. Lindh | 1910 | mach(inist?) |
| Frank W. McGuire | 1910 | employee |
| Daniel Malone | 1910 | teamster |
| Arthur A. Mann | 1910 | cabinetmaker |
| David T. Mercer | 1910 | laborer |
| John T. Munhall | 1910 | teamster |
| Heinrich Pfeiffer | 1909-1910 | laborer, foreman |
| Joseph Real | 1910 | employee |
| Samuel Ricker | 1910 | teamster |
| Michael J. Storey | 1910 | teamster |
| Jeff Van Gundy | 1910 | foreman |
| William Wash | 1910 | teamster |
| Fred Weingart | 1909-1910 | tallyman, clerk |
| Stanley C. Wheeler | 1910 | employee |
| Thomas Wilson | 1910 | teamster |
Links and References
- A New Lumber Company Oakland Tribune August 9, 1904
- G.W. Fisher Meets With Serious Accident Oakland Tribune August 16, 1911
- Fisher Lumber Company's New Mill Oakland Tribune April 19, 1907
- Thieves Get and Lose $1300 Oakland Tribune April 25, 1908 (p2)
- Unique Way of Delivering Lumber Oakland Tribune November 6, 1905
- Man Thrown From Wagon Oakland Tribune May 4, 1905
- Train and Rig Collide Oakland Tribune October 14, 1905
- Fisher Lumber Co. Oakland Tribune December 22, 1906
