The Potlatch Lumber Company was organized as a corporation in 1904 and in September 1905 began erecting its mill in Potlatch, Idaho.

The Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway, although not part of the Potlatch Company, also had its headquarters in Potlatch. The railway was completed in 1907, and spanned the 47 miles from Palouse, Washington to Bovill, Idaho which was the main point of logging activity and the railroad switching point for logs which were then routed to the mill. The town of Bovill depended almost entirely on this timber, and was established by the Potlatch Company because of its proximity to a stand of the best white pine in North Idaho. Logging in the region north and west of Bovill was begun even before the railway line was completed.

Potlatch Company's Camp 6 was located on the railway line northwest of Helmer, Idaho, which was a small, unincorporated town southwest of Bovill. It was laid out in 1910 and was named after a Potlatch Forest timber cruiser, William Helmer. Camp 6, the headquarters camp and one of the company's largest, was built around 1917. Each bunk house contained beds for sixty men. Unlike most camps, this one had good laundry facilities; hot water was obtained via a system of coils directly from water heated on the wood stove.

In spite of this, body lice and bed bugs were common. As in most of the camps the meals served to the loggers by the camp cook were also a source of complaint. Two unions were active in the camps, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies) and the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen (4-L). They caused no serious problems and were successful in improving conditions.

The logging activity tended to taper off a little in the 1920's with the depletion of the prime stands of timber. When the depression began to be felt in 1930 operations slowed considerably. This was the end of the boom for the area. Logging operations eventually ceased, leaving nothing but the logging litter, broken trees, rusted machinery, etc., as a reminder of the past.