History of Embrun/Under a new name/The Corporate Lumber Industry

< Back to Embrun from 1856-1867

The Two Embrun Corporations
In 1867, control of the lumber industry in Embrun reverted from government control to corporate control. On July 5th, 1867, the Embrun Lumber Company was formed and quickly started hiring the lumber workers. They purchased huge amounts of land south of Embrun. They made money very fast and grossly contributed to even greater prosperity in Embrun in the late 1860s.

However, the Embrun Lumber Company didn't treat its employees well. Employees were working for many hours from Monday to Saturday, even in the winter, and payed its employees ridiculously low amounts, knowing that many of its employees would not be able to find another job.

A group of disgruntled employees formed the Embrun Forestry Corporation in August 1867 (exact date not known). It offered employees much fairer work hours and higher paychecks. Numerous employees defected to the Embrun Forestry Corporation. The Embrun Forestry Corporation bought nearly every inch of forested land that the Embrun Lumber Company had not yet bought. A rivalry formed between the two companies.

The Embrun Lumber Company had much more land grants to forests than the Embrun Forestry Corporation. The Embrun Lumber Company owned four times more land than the Embrun Forestry Corporation. However, the Embrun Forestry Corporation was much more strategic. They only bought out land that contained high-value trees such as Oak, whereas the Embrun Lumber Company merely bought out forests not caring what the value of the trees where. Because of this, the Embrun Forestry Corporation had greater profits than the Embrun Lumber Company. This allowed the Embrun Lumber Company to offer more money to its employees. This caused even more Embrun Lumber Company employees to defect to the Embrun Forestry Corporation. By February 1868, the Embrun Forestry Corporation had 87% of Embrun's lumber workers.

The Embrun Forestry Corporation soon viewed the Embrun Lumber Company as an unworthy rival, so instead they started a minor rivalry with Casselman Forest Products Incorporated, the only other lumber company in the region. This created a rivalry between Embrun and Casselman that still exists in the eyes of some (although to a much smaller degree).

Since the employees were all defecting to the Embrun Forestry Corporation, the Embrun Lumber Company couldn't chop down as many trees in one month as the Embrun Forestry Corporation could in one day. Because of this, they went bankrupt in 1871. The Embrun Forestry Corporation purchased the Embrun Lumber Company, taking complete control of the Embrun Lumber Industry.

The Lumber War with Casselman
COMING SOON

Continue to Life in Embrun in 1883 &rsaquo;