Historic Hood River
Nicolai Mill?
Notes
This picture is from a 1907 Blythe family album. Kenn recently showed me a picture of a mill between Ruthton and Mitchell Point he believes was called the Nicolai mill, and I believe this is another view of it. Newspaper clips indicate it was quite a populous area in its time, supporting both a school and a post office.
Here’s some insight into the lumber market from The Hood River Glacier January 31, 1902:
During the year 1901 there was exported from the mills of the Lost Lake Lumber Company, the Davenport Bros, and the Nicolai Company, 35,000,000 feet of lumber worth $7 a thousand, or a total of $213,000. During the same year there was cut 6,000 cords of wood worth $2.50 a cord or a total of $15,0O0. Add to this $7,500 for slab wood and there is a total of $235,000 from timber alone.
l.e.
There is a lot of history in the name Nicolai.
When I first saw the name here at HHR connected with a mill, I was curioius.
I’m familiar with the name of Nicolai Mtn. down on the lower Columbia near Rainier, Oregon, so I was surprised to see the unusual name also in the Hood River area.
Lots of interesting history connected with the Nicolai Brothers and the Nicolai Door and Sash Company of Portland.
Buzz
From an earlier posting the HR Glacier paper reported in Jan 1900 the new Lost Lake Lumber Co. mill built in Hood River could cut 300,000 bd/ft per day. That would figure out to 75+ million bd/ft per year. Two years later the paper is reporting the Lost Lake mill, the Davidson mill, and the Nicolai mill exported 35 million bd/ft per year. It becomes obvious why the Lost Lake mill was moved from Hood River to Dee. It would seem the builders of the mill in Hood River didn’t do their homework on how much wood they could float down the Hood River. Also cords of wood selling at $2.50 per cord as compared to today, it appears the price has increased approx. 40 times. In spite of the tremendous increases in productivity, that is a good indication of what the federal government paper money printing presses can do to our economy and savings.
longshot
There is a Nicolai Street in NW Portland not too far from the west end of the Fremont Bridge.
nels
Looks like a high water time with the line of trees appearing to be in the water.
longshot
Looks like the yard around the mill is underwater as well. I wonder if they had a lot of lumber just float away as the waters came up.
Kenn
Nicolai post office 11-13-1900 until 10-13-1903. Name changed to Menominee 10-13-1903 until 3-31-1909. Moved to Hood River. Location about four miles west of Hood River on the RR. I wonder if it was located in the Menomonee-Mitchell Point store.. .
Charlott
I do remember cabins at Mitchell Point. I think I have a photo around here of some building(s) at Mitchell Point. Have to see if I can find it….
longshot
The Ranch Drive In has pictures of the camp, service station, and hotel at Mitchell point up on their wall. The foundations for what I guess was the hotel and tent sites are still plainly visible to the south of the present parking lot.
Kenn
State parks has recently posted at Mitchell Point some of Dave and Steve’s photos.
Foundations at Mitchell Point – The first cabins/service station/store are under the parking lot. The foundations of the later motel are evident, front and rear concrete foundations and a rock retaining wall four feet behind that. Above that is the 10′ stone wall that was on the north side of the "big house". Starting up the trail is the concrete slab of the generator building shown in old photos, and farther up is the concrete water box, both have signs.
Kenn
Longshot, the mill is the steam or smoke in the distance west of Ruthton, the flooded area in the foreground is east of Ruthton, the picture taken from the onetime motel site.
Jeffrey Bryant
This could have been the Menominee Mill. It was destroyed by fire on June 13, 1908.
See: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1908-06-18/ed-1/seq-2/
Jeffrey Bryant
Hood River Sun, September 28, 1899
Louis Nicolai, of Portland, who has a logging camp at White Salmon, opposite Hood River, had the misfortune to fall from a shanty he was building, Saturday, and broke several bones of one of his feet. He was brought to town at once and had the fractures reduced by Dr. Shaw, and on Monday he returned to his home in Portland.
Jeffrey Bryant
Hood River Sun, September 28, 1899
A Serious Accident
A serious accident happened Saturday at the Nicolai sawmill, five miles west of town. While the smokestack was being raised, the derrick collapsed, knocking from a high scaffold Frank Knapp and E. Roberson. It was almost miraculous that both were not instantly killed, but they sustained some very severe injuries, Mr. Knapp, compression of the skull and chest, rendering him unconscious for twelve hours after the accident. Mr. Roberson was more fortunate and escaped with but slight injury to his legs which will lay him up for ten days. The attending physician, Dr. Shaw, reports both getting along as well as could be expected.
Greg Gibbs
I worked at the Nicolai Door plant in Kenton for 14 years starting in 1974. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to try and answer them
L.E.
This 1921 HR Glacier article goes with Jeffrey’s above link about the Menominee Mill Fire:
"Menominee Changed to Meno: Meno is the new name of a siding of the O.W.R. &. Co., the second west of Hood River. The name was shortened from Menominee. The plant was formerly the location of one of the valley’s largest sawmills. The lumber plant burned about 15 years ago, only charred piling at the edge of the Columbia and the wrecks of some old houses now remaining."
Ted Lailer
I am trying to get information about the Nicolai door Co providing 8 foot cedar doors for the American inn built in Portland Oregon at the site of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. Can you help.
Viktor
Hey this is cool to see. I’m a descendent of the Nicolai family. My mother still holds original copies of the patent documents for the process they used for making plywood.
I would love it if anyone could share information about our family’s journey to America. I can’t seem to get past the US through genealogy tracking, and the information passed down by my Grandmother (Theodora) before she died is very contradictory. Interesting, but contradictory.