By: Beth Marshall & Mary E. Mortimer
Last week we shared an article about William J. Orr, who had successful lumber and mining businesses in Logan County and the western states. In 1905, he built his “dream house” on E. Columbus Ave. in Bellefontaine. His home, now known as the Orr Mansion, is part of the Logan County History Center. Part 2 provides a more in depth look at his business ventures with his brothers, Cass “C.P.” and Elijah “E.C.” Orr.
William J. and Alice Orr moved to Logan County about 1902 and purchased land in Jefferson, Monroe and Richland Townships for the purpose of timber harvesting. The next year, Orr built a large sawmill and spoke factory in Huntsville. A short time later, he moved the sawmill to St. Paris St. in Bellefontaine. In 1905, he started a hoop factory in Belle Center that was managed by his oldest son, Weldon, and he also owned a sawmill in Kenton.
In 1910, Mr. Orr visited his brothers, C.P. and E.C. Orr, who were lumber dealers in Spokane, Washington. They had purchased a mine near Forest, Idaho on the Salmon River that produced gold, silver, and copper on 15 claims covering 300 acres. Orr was favorably impressed and invested, along with several other men from Logan County, including his sons Weldon and Starl.
By early 1911, Orr had experienced four fires in four years. His “country home” in Uniopolis, and his Kenton and Bellefontaine facilities were all badly damaged or destroyed by fire. Unfortunately, he did not have his properties insured. On April 13, 1911, after the last fire, Orr closed his Bellefontaine sawmill and sold his horses, mules, and equipment. He then went to Idaho and became superintendent of the Deer Creek Mining & Milling Co. His wife, Alice, and family remained at their E. Columbus Ave. home.
In May, Orr sent a letter to his wife stating that the ore assayed from the Idaho mine was averaging $1,088.40 per ton of ore for three samples of one claim and $392 on another claim, and they were waiting for the snowy, wet roads to clear before starting to haul machinery into the mountainous area. On a visit home in August, he reported that the sawmill was getting out about 100,000 feet of lumber for the buildings to house the mining machinery which was being delivered at that time. When he came home for Christmas in 1911, he gave each of his children 1,000 shares of stock in the company worth $1.00 per share.
On the 4th of July 1913, the mine was dedicated to a large party attended by 200 people, including fireworks, supper at the Forest Hotel, and dancing. In August of that year, Mr. Orr returned to Bellefontaine bringing a moving picture show about the Deer Creek Mining and Milling Co. which was shown at the Grand Opera House in Bellefontaine for investors and anyone interested in the mining operation. Also included was musical entertainment, which included singing by his daughter, Pauline, and Starl’s wife, Marie.
In February 1915, Orr placed an ad in the West Liberty Banner for “Free Motion Pictures” of the mining company to be shown at the Photo Theater in West Liberty. It featured “scenic views of the mountainous country, harvesting scenes, trains passing through the mountains, cowgirls and boys racing down the steep mountains”. Since no children were to be admitted unless accompanied by parents, this was likely a way to get more people interested in investing in the company.
August of 1916 saw a major setback for the Orr brothers and investors when there was an extensive fire at the mine. William Orr was President and General Manager of the mining company at that time. The main building that housed the machinery burned, along with a barn, bunkhouse for the miners, a dwelling, and a 150-foot bridge. The loss was estimated at several thousand dollars, but the main concern was the time it would take to get things back in operation.
The company was capitalized at $1,500,000 and about one-third was from Logan County area investors. A Bellefontaine newspaper article from October of that year tells of Mr. Orr’s travels to Illinois and Cleveland while selling stock, “assisted by local people”, to get the funding to rebuild the mining operation. Several thousand dollars worth of stock had already been sold, the machinery was being overhauled, and the site was being prepared for rebuilding.
The mine was located in a remote area without any roads. An article in the Wallace (Idaho) Miner reported in August 1918 about how Mr. Orr delivered the mining equipment, “A very definite idea of the inaccessibility of the mine is gained from Mr. Orr’s description of how he delivered the machinery for the mill which was recently completed. With block and tackle, skids, and other devices a boiler weighing 12,000 pounds was delivered down the steep declivity 3,000 feet to the mill site, a feat which the wise ones insisted could not be done. Altogether Mr. Orr states that he lowered in this manner 144,000 pounds of mill machinery.”
After the mine was rebuilt and back in operation, Mr. Orr reported one test run produced a gold brick weighing over 6 ounces.
In 1920, the International Lumber Co. was started by the Orr brothers. The following year, William Orr left mining and began working for them, inspecting their timber in British Columbia.
In about 1924, E.C. Orr invented a mechanical saw sharpener and started the Orr Saw Tooth Co., selling saw sharpeners that he and his brothers produced for the mills throughout the Northwest. When William Orr passed away unexpectedly in 1927, he was working at the Orr Saw Tooth Co. Mr. Orr is buried in Spokane, Washington.
Despite many setbacks, William J. Orr’s ingenuity and resourcefulness helped him to be successful in his business ventures. He must have also been an enthusiastic salesman to get so many investors in his endeavors.
A special thank you to Ralph Allen from Boise, Idaho who donated some of the Deer Creek Milling & Mining photos.
Visit the Logan County History Center at 521 E. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, to learn more interesting aspects of Logan County History.
The History Center is open for tours Wednesday – Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
