As you look to the south at the large buildings try and imagine the old Southwest Forest Mill which occupied the land south of Butler Avenue. Photos courtesy of Cline Library, Special Collections
Lumber was one of the first industries in Flagstaff with the cutting of ties for the Atlantic & Pacific railroad, this railroad was reorganized as the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe by the time it reached Flagstaff. Then Ayer Lumber Company was formed and contracted to cut the ties. This company was later purchased by the Riordans and renamed Arizona Lumber Company with a mill located on the west side of town.
In 1953 the Saginaw & Manistee Lumber Company sold its lease to Southwest Lumber Mills a.k.a. Southwest Forest Industries and much of the machinery was moved to the site on Butler Avenue, this later became Stone Forest Industries which closed its operations in May of 1993.
The mill was a major employer as noted in this photo courtesy of Cline Library, Special Collections.
The mill was supplied with logs from areas south of town and for many years the logs arrived via train from Happy Jack logging camp. Loading took place at Allen Landing (GCXM9X) and logs arrived daily during the summer cutting season. Sometime in the 60's the rail system could not keep up with demand and logs were hauled by truck to the mill.
In the early 60's a large fire broke out in the mill creating quite a spectacular scene. Mill firefighters joined by voulunteer Flagstaff firefighters worked hard and long to contain and extinguish the fire. Flagstaff citizens lined Route 66 right here at the cache site to watch the fire and the ongoing battle.
This cache is part of the Historic Route 66 Geocaching Project, a series created by the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and designated as an official Arizona Centennial Legacy Project by the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission.
You can view all the caches in this series here.