Potlatch Corporation. Pres-To-Log Division
Scope and Contents
The Pres-to-log records of the Potlatch Corporation span the years 1933 to 1989, with the bulk of the material covering the decades of 1940, 1950 and 1960.
Included in the records are Wood Briquettes, Inc., correspondence with companies leasing Pres-to-log machines, general information on the product, photographs, and engineering drawings.
Additional information on Pres-to-logs may be found in other Potlatch Corporation records including MG135, MG139, and MG192.
Dates
- Creation: 1933-1989
Language of Materials
English
Biographical / Historical
Wood Briquettes, Inc. which manufactured and leased the Pres-to-log machinery and marketed the logs, was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Potlatch Corporation. It was incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1933 by M.S. Cook, A.L. Raughley, and J.M. Townsend, all of Dover, Delaware. Officers were C.L. Billings, Otto Leuschel, H.L. Torsen, of Lewiston, ID, and G.F. Jewett of Coeur d'Alene. Other directors were J.P. Weyerhaeuser, Jr., and Laird Bell. Pres-to-logs were made from compressed wood shavings, sawdust and chips, and required one-quarter the space of the original wood. The first machine started production in April 1936. The patent for the Pres-to-log machine expired in 1960 and none were built after that time. The company eventually lost control over the machines and producers and in 1984 the directors consented to dissolve the company. All assets were transferred to the parent company, Potlatch Corporation by the end of 1985,and that company sold the remaining machinery.
Extent
3.0 cubic feet
Abstract
Correspondence, leases, photographs, and engineering drawings pertaining to the manufacture and marketing of Pres-to-logs by Potlatch Corporation and Wood Briquettes, Inc.
Arrangement
The records were in no apparent order when received. Some material was in labeled folders while other material was not foldered at all. Material within folders was not always consistent with the label. Records were therefore separated by company. Original folder heading were kept if appropriate.
The material in this record group is arranged in two series, Wood Briquettes, Inc. and Potlatch Corporation.
The papers generated by Wood Briquettes, Inc., which manufactured and leased Pres-to-log machinery, are in series one. These papers are subdivided into three sections. The first contains corporate records, general information on the product, general correspondence, and financial records. The second section consists of correspondence with companies leasing machinery. The third section contains an incomplete set of engineering drawings for Pres-to-log machinery.
The second series contains papers generated by Potlatch Corporation, the parent company of Wood Briquettes. Included are research reports, correspondence pertaining to the sale of the equipment after the dissolution of Wood Briquettes, material relating to patents, and costs of operating the plants.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records of the Potlatch Corporation Pres-to-log Division were donated to the University of Idaho Library by James C. McAdoo of the Potlatch Corporation in January 1995.
- Title
- Guide to the Potlatch Corporation. Pres-To-Log Division Records 1933-1989
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen
- Date
- © 1997, updated in 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository