Funding for encoding this
finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
Biographical Note
Jackson F. Kimball was probably born about 1874 in Maine, the state in
which he grew up. He studied medicine and law in college, but left to become a
timber cruiser. He ultimately moved west, staying briefly in Roseburg, Oregon,
and then moving to Klamath Falls. In 1905 Kimball began working for the
Weyerhauser Timber Company. He devised the company's policy pertaining to the
leasing of its holdings for grazing purposes. Kimball worked for Weyerhauser
until his death in 1944. In 1908 Kimball became associated with the
Klamath/Lake Counties Forest Fire Association, later the Klamath Forest
Protective Association. He was also interested in control of the Western Pine
Beetle, a major pest in the forests of the Klamath region.
Kimball's timber work was not limited to Weyerhauser. He acted as
agent/broker for the Day Brothers Lumber Company, the C.C. Yawkey Lumber
Company (Yawkey was the owner of the Boston Red Sox), the Alexander-Yawkey
Lumber Company (for whom he was an officer), several smaller timber/lumber and
real estate interests, and individuals. Kimball was a shareholder and trustee
of the American National Bank of Klamath Falls. From 1930-1940 he was the
Klamath County chair for the Citizens' Military Training Camp. He spent
considerable time in Salem lobbying the Oregon Legislature for timber and
lumber industry-related legislation. Kimball died at his home in Klamath Falls
on May 21, 1944. (Most of the above information is from Harry J. Drew's
Weyerhauser Company: A History of People, Land and
Growth, 1979.)
Content Description
Series one documents the agent/broker work that Kimball did in the
Klamath Falls area for major lumber companies other than Weyerhauser Timber
Company, his primary employer. These included Day Brothers Lumber Company, C.C.
Yawkey Lumber Company, and Alexander-Yawkey Lumber Company. The
Alexander-Yawkey Lumber Company files document its start in 1937 and its early
operations near Prineville. Series two documents Kimball's agent/broker work
for smaller lumber companies and individuals.
Series three consists of personal and work-related correspondence with
individuals and organizations. Series four documents some of Kimball's
professional activities involving lumber and timber organizations and his role
in shaping state and federal legislation affecting the timber and lumber
industries. Series five pertains to Kimball's personal investments and tax
matters involving his interests. Series six includes photographs separated from
the collection's files.
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation :
Jackson F. Kimball Papers, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis,
Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Collection is arranged into six series: I. Lumber Company Files; II.
Sales, Contracts, Leases & Trustee Files; III. General correspondence; IV.
Professional Activities; V. Financial Records; and VI. Photographs. Most series
are arranged alphabetically by subseries and then chronologically.
Related Materials :
Much of Kimball's correspondence with the Weyerhauser Timber Company can
be found at the corporation's archives in Tacoma, Washington.
