There were several lumber mills in St. Johns around that time, plus a flour mill, and the Portland Woolen Mills. The town was all about shipping because of its location on the Willamette River downstream from Portland and its proximity to the Columbia River. At one time St. Johns had its own dry dock right there on the Willamette. St. Johns was incorporated into Portland in 1915. The younger guys in the photo — like the one on the far right with the eager smile — lived to see so much change as Portland grew and expanded in the new century.
Not sure but i think that is N Baltimore coming down the hill there.
The photographer had his depth-of-field set incorrectly if his intention was to capture the workers in focus. The camera was focused on the cart loaded with wood in the foreground and if you enlarge the picture the amount of detail seen is quite astounding (the wood grain, the wheels, knotted rope, the nuts and bolts of the brackets holding things together).
In the left background of the photo I think I see two children waiting on both sides of the dirt road; with one, holding a flag. I also think I see a clothes line with sheets on it at the back of a house. There also appears to be three men possibly in this same general area, one standing near the roadside, one near the clothesline, and another holding a piece of lumber over his head.
The eleven workers posing on the right are all hardy, rough-and-tumble types who look eager to return to their work. There’s an interesting assortment of hats, jackets, overalls, dungarees, work boots and heavy leather gloves being worn on this dry overcast day.
Mike
Efiles notes that on the back of the of the photo that an “X” at he top of the photo is the house where L M Oihus an employee lived at 7108 N Burlington so the street coming down the hill would be N. Burlington.
Here is a little info on L M Oihus. He lived at the same house from at least 1910 until his death in 1941, and he was married during these years to Laura H. Oihus.
US Census, Multnomah County Voter, and Draft registration records list his name as either Laurs or Lauris Mickle Oihus, but always at 313 W Burlington which later became 7108 N Burlington.
His 1910 voter registration card list his age at 35 yrs. and the listed occupation is shown as stickerman or stackerman with the same occupation in 1914.
US Census occupations (1917) Machinist (1920) Carpenter Shipyard (1930) Carpenter House)
1932 Foreman NW Forest Products.
So is this the company bought by the Autzen family that became Portland Lumber? (At the foot of the St. John’s bridge)
Somewhere South of Cathedral park there is a reader board that says this is where plywood (or something similar) was invented.
Note the bundles of cedar shingles stacked in the center; most homes were roofed with wood shingles back then!
My late grandfather was, for a time, a shingle “weaver”, that is he wove shingles together form a bundle such as the ones pictured.
This 1911 photo shows a peaceful lot of mill workers, but the year of 1910 was a different story.
Oregon Journal March 22, 1910 (page 1)
RACE WAR IN ST. JOHNS RESULTS IN BLOODSHED AND INJURIES TO HINDU EMPLOYEES
(excerpt)
Race war broke out lat night in St. Johns, where fully 100 Hindus were assaulted and robbed. Employees of the St. Johns Lumber company mill are being arrested this afternoon by the wholesale for the acts. In most cases the Hindus were held up by men with revolvers and forced to give up their money. Several were beaten into insensibility. Three men were thrown from second story window to the ground.
The trouble started because the Hindus were working in the lumber mill. Shortly before 7 o’clock a large building on Burlington street where a number are quartered was surrounded by mill men who fired several shots through the windows. The rioters rushed in and beat and assaulted the Hindus, taking their watches and grabbing for their money belts.
Much more was written in the following months.
Without the St Johns Bridge, I have no visual reference. Great picture.
What’s interesting is that if you use Google Earth to go down N. Burlington to where it intersects with N. Crawford (6476 – 6590 N. Burlington) you can see what the site of the old lumbermill looks like today. Columbia Forge & Machine Works is located on that site today between N. Crawford and the railroad tracks. And there are a couple of warehouse-type buildings on site that look like they could be re-built versions of the mill in today’s photo (similar height and roof lines). I wonder if the mill was located there on that rail line, with stacked lumber ready to be hauled or put on ships as the river is only a couple blocks away. Today, N. Burlington ends just beyond the railroad tracks, and the river is just beyond that. From this vantage point you can look straight up N. Burlington (up hill) towards where Mr. Oihus’ house was, or maybe still is, located at the top of the hill at 7108 N. Burlington. Interesting! https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5852834,-122.7579585,3a,75y,71.02h,109.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjocoLcxatcBVk29u8Mo7tA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
wploulorenziprince sorry but there is no kid holding a flag that is a part of the building further up the road.
Once in a great while we get a real treat like this image. Nice and Thank You.
Well, you’re still not printing my comments, sigh. I’m getting the others replies just fine -? I don’t get it!
Sent from my iPhone
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Debby yes Thomas Autzen and associates purchased St. Johns Lumber.
Oregon Journal April 28, 1929 (page 7)
St. Johns Lumber Mill Sold; Will be Spruce Plant
Purchase of the St. Johns Lumber mill property, at the foot of Burlington Street, from the L. B. Menefee Lumber company, was announced Wednesday by Thomas Autzen, who with a group of associates, has organized the Portland Spruce mill. Consideration was not announced
The mill property has been idle for several years. It will be converted into a spruce mill for production of airplane timbers, according to the new owners. Autzen intimated that production might be started in the near future.
Robin
The home of Mr. Oihus was located on the corner on N Burlington & N Princeton (7108 N Burlington) and aerial views shown it was torn down about in 2000, and new rowhouse’s were built on the site (8195 N Princeton) in 2001.
Vintage Portland 
There were several lumber mills in St. Johns around that time, plus a flour mill, and the Portland Woolen Mills. The town was all about shipping because of its location on the Willamette River downstream from Portland and its proximity to the Columbia River. At one time St. Johns had its own dry dock right there on the Willamette. St. Johns was incorporated into Portland in 1915. The younger guys in the photo — like the one on the far right with the eager smile — lived to see so much change as Portland grew and expanded in the new century.
Not sure but i think that is N Baltimore coming down the hill there.
The photographer had his depth-of-field set incorrectly if his intention was to capture the workers in focus. The camera was focused on the cart loaded with wood in the foreground and if you enlarge the picture the amount of detail seen is quite astounding (the wood grain, the wheels, knotted rope, the nuts and bolts of the brackets holding things together).
In the left background of the photo I think I see two children waiting on both sides of the dirt road; with one, holding a flag. I also think I see a clothes line with sheets on it at the back of a house. There also appears to be three men possibly in this same general area, one standing near the roadside, one near the clothesline, and another holding a piece of lumber over his head.
The eleven workers posing on the right are all hardy, rough-and-tumble types who look eager to return to their work. There’s an interesting assortment of hats, jackets, overalls, dungarees, work boots and heavy leather gloves being worn on this dry overcast day.
Mike
Efiles notes that on the back of the of the photo that an “X” at he top of the photo is the house where L M Oihus an employee lived at 7108 N Burlington so the street coming down the hill would be N. Burlington.
Here is a little info on L M Oihus. He lived at the same house from at least 1910 until his death in 1941, and he was married during these years to Laura H. Oihus.
US Census, Multnomah County Voter, and Draft registration records list his name as either Laurs or Lauris Mickle Oihus, but always at 313 W Burlington which later became 7108 N Burlington.
His 1910 voter registration card list his age at 35 yrs. and the listed occupation is shown as stickerman or stackerman with the same occupation in 1914.
US Census occupations (1917) Machinist (1920) Carpenter Shipyard (1930) Carpenter House)
1932 Foreman NW Forest Products.
So is this the company bought by the Autzen family that became Portland Lumber? (At the foot of the St. John’s bridge)
Somewhere South of Cathedral park there is a reader board that says this is where plywood (or something similar) was invented.
Note the bundles of cedar shingles stacked in the center; most homes were roofed with wood shingles back then!
My late grandfather was, for a time, a shingle “weaver”, that is he wove shingles together form a bundle such as the ones pictured.
This 1911 photo shows a peaceful lot of mill workers, but the year of 1910 was a different story.
Oregon Journal March 22, 1910 (page 1)
RACE WAR IN ST. JOHNS RESULTS IN BLOODSHED AND INJURIES TO HINDU EMPLOYEES
(excerpt)
Race war broke out lat night in St. Johns, where fully 100 Hindus were assaulted and robbed. Employees of the St. Johns Lumber company mill are being arrested this afternoon by the wholesale for the acts. In most cases the Hindus were held up by men with revolvers and forced to give up their money. Several were beaten into insensibility. Three men were thrown from second story window to the ground.
The trouble started because the Hindus were working in the lumber mill. Shortly before 7 o’clock a large building on Burlington street where a number are quartered was surrounded by mill men who fired several shots through the windows. The rioters rushed in and beat and assaulted the Hindus, taking their watches and grabbing for their money belts.
Much more was written in the following months.
Without the St Johns Bridge, I have no visual reference. Great picture.
What’s interesting is that if you use Google Earth to go down N. Burlington to where it intersects with N. Crawford (6476 – 6590 N. Burlington) you can see what the site of the old lumbermill looks like today. Columbia Forge & Machine Works is located on that site today between N. Crawford and the railroad tracks. And there are a couple of warehouse-type buildings on site that look like they could be re-built versions of the mill in today’s photo (similar height and roof lines). I wonder if the mill was located there on that rail line, with stacked lumber ready to be hauled or put on ships as the river is only a couple blocks away. Today, N. Burlington ends just beyond the railroad tracks, and the river is just beyond that. From this vantage point you can look straight up N. Burlington (up hill) towards where Mr. Oihus’ house was, or maybe still is, located at the top of the hill at 7108 N. Burlington. Interesting!
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5852834,-122.7579585,3a,75y,71.02h,109.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjocoLcxatcBVk29u8Mo7tA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
wploulorenziprince sorry but there is no kid holding a flag that is a part of the building further up the road.
Once in a great while we get a real treat like this image. Nice and Thank You.
Well, you’re still not printing my comments, sigh. I’m getting the others replies just fine -? I don’t get it!
Sent from my iPhone
<
div dir=”ltr”>
<
blockquote type=”cite”>
Debby yes Thomas Autzen and associates purchased St. Johns Lumber.
Oregon Journal April 28, 1929 (page 7)
St. Johns Lumber Mill Sold; Will be Spruce Plant
Purchase of the St. Johns Lumber mill property, at the foot of Burlington Street, from the L. B. Menefee Lumber company, was announced Wednesday by Thomas Autzen, who with a group of associates, has organized the Portland Spruce mill. Consideration was not announced
The mill property has been idle for several years. It will be converted into a spruce mill for production of airplane timbers, according to the new owners. Autzen intimated that production might be started in the near future.
Robin
The home of Mr. Oihus was located on the corner on N Burlington & N Princeton (7108 N Burlington) and aerial views shown it was torn down about in 2000, and new rowhouse’s were built on the site (8195 N Princeton) in 2001.