Springfield Sawmill

From Lane Co Oregon

The company that would make Springfield a major industrial center was the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company, which was incorporated in 1896 by Robert and Henry Booth and George and Tom Kelly. In August 1901, the Booth-Kelly Corporation purchased the Springfield sawmill and several thousand acres of timberland in the region. The sawmill was dismantled in 1902 and a larger, more efficient mill with a capacity for greater production was constructed on the same site (Clarke 1983:46).

The sawmill was not directly powered by the millrace. A steam plant was built adjacent to the millrace to power the mill with the sawdust and refuse lumber. Since this fuel was in excess of the demands for operating the plant, and destroying it would be an expense to the company, a proposition was made to the Eugene Electric Light Company to erect a light plant in Springfield with the fuel furnished by Booth-Kelly (Clarke 1983:46-48).

In addition to the steam plant, Booth-Kelly created a large mill pond to store logs on the western half of the millrace. In 1911, a brick steam plant replaced the original wooden building. In July of that year, the Booth-Kelly sawmill was destroyed by fire.