NORTHERN PINE MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION (U.S.).:

The Northern Pine Manufacturers' Association had its beginnings in the Lumbermen's Association of Minneapolis and St. Anthony, which was organized in 1869 but lasted only a few years. In 1891 and 1892, respectively, the Mississippi Valley Lumbermen's Association and the Wisconsin Valley Lumbermen's Association were organized. In 1906 these groups merged as the Northern Pine Manufacturers' Association. Because of the economic depression, the organization was dissolved in 1931, and then reorganized in 1933 under the Lumber Code Authority of the National Recovery Administration. When the latter agency was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1935, the Northern Pine Manufacturers' Association reorganized as a trade association. The membership was small, consisting towards the end of only five members: Red Lake Indian Mills, Keewatin Sawmill Company, J.A. Mathieu, Ltd, Rajala Lumber and Sawmill Company, and The Pas Lumber Company. However, the organization lasted until 1960, when it merged with the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of Green Bay, Wisconsin, becoming the Northern Hardwood and Pine Manufacturers' Association.

The organization established and published grading rules for the pine species produced in its territory, and furnished reinspection service on all woods produced by member mills except western white spruce. It also issued monthly statistical reports on lumber cut and shipped.

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The records consist of correspondence, minutes, financial records, reports, printed materials, industry statistics, and bulletins relating to the history, production, grading and use of white and Norway pine, primarily in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada. There is information on the lumber industry and lumber regulation during World War II. There is also a good deal of information on lumber industry/government relations, including the Northern Pine Manufacturer Association's involvement with the Lumber Code Authority of the National Recovery Act (1933-1935), the Federal Housing Administration's lumber standards (1938-1945), the Office of Price Administration and the Office of Price Stabilization (1941-1953), and the American Lumber Standards Committee established by the National Bureau of Standards (1949-1959). There are correspondence files (1902-1960); membership lists, contracts, and dues records (1891-1959); production reports (1939-1958); minutes of meetings (1906-1931); auditors, treasurers, and other reports (1905, 1929-1960); American Lumber Standards Committee auditor's reports (1949-1959); and constitutions, bulletins, plans for buildings, price lists, and related materials.

Also included are some records of the Mississippi Valley Lumbermen's Association and the Wisconsin Valley Lumbermen's Association (1890-1906), predecessors to the Northern Pine Manufacturer Association.

Minutes of annual and directors' meetings and of a few special committees for 1933-1960 are on microfilm.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Northern Pine Manufacturers' Association (U.S.). Association Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, 1975.

Originals of the microfilm were loaned for copying by the Northern Hardwood and Pine Manufacturers' Association, Green Bay, Wis.

Microfilm available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 3359; 8256; 8610; 8783; 8832; 8917; 9070; 10,529; 11,842

Processing Information:

Processed by: Bonnie Palmquist, 1976

Catalog ID number: 990017319440104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Farm buildings -- Designs and plans.

Lumber -- Grading.

Lumber trade -- Prices.

Lumber trade -- Northwestern States.

New Deal, 1933-1939.

Trade regulation.

Wages.

White pine.

World War, 1939-1945.

Persons:

Ellinger, Walter A.

Organizations:

American Lumber Standards Committee.

B.F. Harris Co. (Winnipeg, Man.).

Estonian Foresters Association (Germany).

J.A. Mathieu, Ltd. (Rainy Lake, Ont.).

Keewatin Sawmill Co. (Keewatin, Minn.).

Mississippi Valley Lumbermen's Association.

National Lumber Manufacturers Association.

Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association (Oshkosh, Wis.).

Protective Committee for the Equality of Business and Labor (Chicago, Ill.).

Rajala Lumber and Sawmill Co. (Bigfork, Minn.).

Red Lake Indian Mills (Redby, Minn.).

The Pas Lumber Co. (The Pas, Man.).

United States. Lumber Code Authority.

United States. National Recovery Association.

United States. Office of Price Administration.

United States. Office of Price Stabilization.

Wisconsin Valley Lumbermen's Association.

Places:

United States -- Economic conditions.

United States -- Emigration and immigration.

Document Types:

Price lists.

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