Penny Data Base

Below is a collection of resources and or links related to this town.

Literature Available

Penny Lumber Company, 1917-1921 (p. 21) 1917, Roy Spurr, T. B. Wall, Hugh MacKenzie near Red Mountain Creek, north of the CN mill liquidated at closure

	Lipsett Sawmills, 1921-1926 Rankin Creek, south of CNR
	Red Mountain Lumber Company, 1921-1928 New mill built south of Penny Changed hands in 1924 to J. F. Campbell and J. P. Meyers
	Penny Sawmills, 1928-1945 Earl Jaeck and John F. McMillan Bought Red Mountain Lumber Co. and changed its name This was one of the largest mills in the Interior in the 1940’s and 1950’s (changes ownership into the 50’s) Residents of Penny ran their day by the mill’s steam whistle; it could be heard as far away as Longworth and Bend

Hooker Brothers (of Dome Creek), 1949 One mile north of Penny at Red Mountain Creek Harvested timber on private land

Guilford Sawmill, ??-1949 Herb Vick (owner) Doug Abernethy (operator)

Standard Tie and Timber, 1945-1948 Roy McGillivray, manager Dutton (USA) had bought Penny Sawmills in 1945 and changed the name Burnt down in 1948 Portable mill built and operated at the mouth of Red Mountain Creek to cut timbers for the building of a new mill New mill built on the site of the old mill

Penny Spruce Mills, 1952-1958 Fred Thurston, owner/operator, attracted by bountiful timber Consisted of a sawmill, planer mill, dry kilns 48 houses, 72 man bunkhouses logging camps at Torpy River and Slim Creek logs purchased from Leboe Bros. at Crescent Spur: 1-1.5 million feet of mainly fir, logs floated down Goat River to Fraser River and then Dome Creek logs transported by train in winter; rivers in summer there were no roads for transport Produced 20 million board feet per year Markets: Ontario, Mid-West (USA), and East Coast (USA) Price: $50 to $55/ metre of lumber Payroll: 120 people (summer), 45 people (winter), 2x40 people at logging camps (winter) Meals: 400 (winter), 450 (summer) Room & Board: $1.35 per day; it was expensive to provide Cookhouse fire, 1954

Eagle Lake Sawmills, 1958-1963 Giscome’s Eagle Lake Sawmills bought out Penny Spruce Mills in 1958 Gordon Brownridge, manager

Red Mountain Sawmill, 1956-1957 South of railway station Later moved one half mile east of Penny and north of the tracks

Northwood, 1963-1965 Portable mills run by Northwood Gordon Geddes, operator