Meigs Pulpwood Company / Lincoln Mills Company

Author:
Peggy Willett

Image removed.The Meigs Pulpwood Co. Ltd. is a name that is no longer remembered in this area, although this company did participate in the local lumber industry for a short time in the early 1900s. The company's New Richmond branch office was located in a building on the west side of New Richmond High School (on the site of the apartment building) and there was also an office in Campbellton, New Brunswick. Meigs operated between Port Daniel and Matapedia and installed rossing plants in several locations along the Coast. They also constructed a sawmill on the Little Cascapedia River at the site known to the older residents of New Richmond as the “Iron Bridge.”

Image removed.The Meigs mill did not operate for very long and was soon sold to the Lincoln Mills Co. which converted it into a barker. The barker ran from 1918 to 1925.

The Lincoln Mills Co. also operated a sawmill on the Skiminac River from 1920 to at least 1930. In the early years, there was great demand for their wood and the operations provided work for 50 or 60 men. By the end of the 1920s, however, business was so poor that they were forced to close the mill.

Image removed.The manager of the Skiminac Mill was E.B. Reid of Campbellton, N.B.Scott McKay (Grand Cascapedia) was “walking boss” and his wife, Frances, was in charge of the cookhouse. A few of the other men who worked there during that period were: Archie Gilker of New Carlisle (clerk), Edgar Cyr (Maria), Ab Cleary (St. Jules), Howard Hardy (Dimock Creek), Orman Willett (Dimock Creek) and Dave Willett (Grand Cascapedia).