Brown Lumber & Supply Company has been part of the industry since the early 1900s when acres and acres of prize virgin timber flourished across the Grand Traverse Bay region.
When pioneers settled here in the mid 1800s, rough, hardworking men disappeared under the green canopy to risk their lives in the lumber camps of the great North Woods. As you might imagine, mills sprouted like toadstools in the area and became the heart of small lumber towns like Traverse City. Brown Lumber was one such mill. Ironically, fire; woods ultimate nemesis-played a large part in the history of the company. Sometime around 1900, W.L. Brown owned a business called the Traverse City Manufacturing Co. on the corner of Lake Ave and 10th St. The company dealt in all kinds of rough and dressed timber and had a mill known as the “ Round Top Mill” because of the shape of its roof. The mill succumbed to a fire and burned to the ground in 1907.
About the same time, W.W. Parr opened the Southside Lumber Co. on the corner of 8th St. and Lake Ave where McGough’s is presently located. The company prospered in both lumber and furniture manufacturing. This success came to an abrupt end, however, one cold morning in 1910, when an enterprising, though careless worker attempted to thaw out some frozen water pipes near the boiler room with a blow - torch. The ensuing fire completely destroyed the mill.
After the destruction of both Southside and the Traverse City Manufacturing Company, Parr and Brown formed a partnership, which came to be known as Brown Lumber Co. In the years that followed, Brown Lumber became the largest manufacturer of wooden body parts for the automobile industry, furnishing running boards and wooden blocks.
During the 1920s, Parr sold the company to J. Harold Dugal, Charles Bracken and Charles Provencher and the name was changed to Brown Lumber and Supply Company.
Yet another fire destroyed the big mill in 1929. The Record Eagle News reported that it was the city’s worst fire since the Hannah and Lay flour mill burned to the ground in 1926. The article noted that the immense blaze not only cost the owners $40,000.00 but also gave the fire chief Joe Fifarek, and his crew an opportunity to use the city’s brand new American-LaFrance 1,000-gallon pumper. Brown Lumber was rebuilt immediately and remained in the hands of Bracken, Dugal and Provencher until it was purchased by Richard Olson in 1955.
Ted Shaw, Phil Cochran and Scott Williams purchased the company in 1991 and relocated to 1701 S. Airport Rd. in 1995 where it continues to prosper as it has for nearly a century due in part to the company's commitment to product knowledge, customer service and the pursuit of higher education.