A Little Early Flistory of The L. W. Blinn Lurnber Co.

Reprinted from the Fiftieth Annivensary Edition of the Tomb,stone Epitaph, Octobet 15,1929.

Early in the year 1880 when Tombstone was rapidly becoming the most noteworthy and talked aboui Mining Camp in America, Mr. C. A. Hooper of San Francisco and several of his brothers planned to open a lumber yard in Tombstone. Mr. L. W. Blinn at that time was living in Sacramento, California, and in the employ of the Sairamento Lumber Company, and Mr. Hooper arranged for Mr. Blinn to go to Tombstone to manige the pioposed pany considerable Douglas Fir by pope & Talbot from their San Francisco lumbei yard. Also, about this time the Comqany arranged with-sheerer & Ross for the entiie mili cut of their sawmill operating in the Chiricahua Mountains. a wagon haul of about 65 miles to Tombstone. This saw_ mill was built-by Phillip Morse about the year lgZ9, who intended,supplying_the-Tucson market, u -*"gon haul of about 170 miles. In the meantime, he had iold out to

Di.stributing Yqrds and, I4/harves, L. W. Blinn Lum,ber C0., Los Atcgeles Harbor, 14/ilmington, Calif orni.a new lumber yard, and, as Mr. Blinn u'ould be the man on the ground, call it L. W. Blinn & Company.

Mr. Blinn, on his arrival in Tombstone, purchasecl a yard site for the company on Toughnut and Seconcl Strlets, and, in the meantime, several carloads of California Mountain Pine were shipped to Benson for the opening stock, the Southern Pacific having just completed ihe eitension of their railroad from Tucson to Benson and arrangements having been made for the lumber to be handled by wagons from Benson as soon as the cars arrived thefe. Theselirst three or four carloads of lumber sold so fast directly from the. wagons as they arrived in Tombstone that .r.ty littl. of it was available for building an office, etc., tili other shipments arrived from California, and besides the California Mountain Pine there was also shipped to the Com-

Sheerer & Ross, and with Tombstone coming into such prominence as a lumber market, Tucson never saw much. if any, of that lumber.

About a year later the Company's business having grown to such extent it was decided in June, 1881. to inc6rporate under the laws of California as The L. W. Blinn Lumber Company. The_ ilcorporators were C. A. Hooper, George W. Hooper, F. P. Hooper of San Francisco, O. p. Goodhue of Sacramento and L. W. Blinn of Tombstone.

About the same year the N. M. & A. railroad started building from Benson to Quaymas. When this road was completed to Contention the Blinn Lumber Company established a branch there from which lumber was hauled by wagon to Tombstone. Then during the year 1883, the (Continued on Page 49)