Kenneth W. Ford (businessman)

Kenneth W. Ford (August 4, 1908 – February 8, 1997) was an American businessman and lumber mill owner from Asotin, Washington, who founded Roseburg Forest Products in 1936. In 2017, his family was the 12th largest private landowners in the United States owning 783,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina and Virginia.[1]

For the theoretical physicist, see Kenneth W. Ford.
Kenneth W. Ford
Born
Kenneth W. Ford

(1908-08-04)August 4, 1908
Asotin, Washington, United States
DiedFebruary 8, 1997(1997-02-08) (aged 88)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of Roseburg Forest Products
SpouseHallie Ford

Early life

Ford was born in Asotin, Washington, a small farming community on Snake River. His father was a sawmill operator who later moved the family to Lebanon, Oregon. Ford originally wanted to operate a dairy farm but, after working for his father, he decided on the lumber business. He graduated from high school in 1926 and completed a term at Oregon State University. He met Hallie Brown and married her in 1935.[2]

Career

In 1936, Ford built a sawmill with salvaged equipment in Roseburg, Oregon. With 25 employees, he established the Roseburg Lumber Company, known today as Roseburg Forest Products. During the first year of production, Roseburg Lumber produced "30,000 board feet of lumber per day" for a small profit. In 1953, Ford recognized the potential of plywood and built many plywood plants. In the 1960s, there was high demand in Japan's paper industry for wood chips leading Ford to build a long-term partnership with the OJI Paper Company of Japan.[3][4]

Ford was known for his philanthropy. In 1957,[5] Kenneth and Hallie Ford established the Ford Family Foundation, one of the largest charitable organizations in Oregon.[3]

Death

Ford died on February 8, 1997, at the age of 88.

In 2017, after his family heirs purchased 158,000 acres of timberland in North Carolina and Virginia, the family became the 12th largest private landowners in the United States, owning a total of 783,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina and Virginia.[1]

References
  1. "Ford Family: 2017 Land Report 100". The Land Report. 2018-04-05. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  2. "East Central University benefactor Hallie Brown Ford dies in Oregon". US States News. June 11, 2007.
    - Rennie Guyer (August 10, 2015). Southern Oregon Timber: The Kenneth Ford Family Legacy. Arcadia Publishing (SC). ISBN 978-1-5402-1361-7 – via Google Books.
  3. "Kenneth W. Ford" (PDF). World Forestry Center. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  4. "The Kenneth Ford Story" (PDF). Roseburg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. "Our Founders". The Ford Family Foundation. Retrieved 3 September 2021.


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