Washougal Lumber Co. to close after 117 years

One of Washougal’s oldest businesses is shutting down.

The Washougal Lumber Co., which has served customers since 1909, will close its doors for the final time on June 30.

“We are a historical landmark in Washougal, (right there) with the Pendleton Woolen Mill,” co-owner Brett Scott said. “I’m very thankful for this great little town supporting generations of my family for years. It will be a very sad goodbye.”

Scott said the business is still doing well financially, but his age and his wife’s health issues influenced his decision to retire.

“It’s just time,” said Scott, 60. “I’m at the age where I’m seeing life a little differently now. My wife’s a couple years older than me, she fights Lyme disease, she’s got atrial fibrillation. Things kind of made me, about a year and a half or two years ago, realize that I’m getting up there and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Ernest Dubois, a Vancouver sawmill owner and Scott’s great-grandfather, started the business in 1909. He passed it on to his son-in-law, Lloyd Scott, who passed it on to his son, John Scott, in 1971. John Scott’s sons, Brett and Kevin Scott, took over in 1992.

“One night, my great-grandfather’s sawmill caught fire, so he and my grandpa salvaged what they could and loaded a train,” Brett Scott said. “The train ended up here. They started unloading and selling the material off the train. Next thing you know, it became a lumber yard. It stayed in the family the whole time.”

Brett Scott said that the personal connections he and his family members have made with customers over the years have contributed to the business’s success.

“The relationship with the community has been almost like a bond,” he said. “We’ve got customers who are so committed to us that they don’t even think about shopping anywhere else. There’s no way this place lasts 117 years without that connection with the community.”

Hayden Brown, a Vancouver resident who worked for Washougal Lumber Co. in 2018 and 2019, said the business is welcoming and family-oriented, and that its generosity, personal relationships and centurylong presence have made it a cherished pillar of the Washougal community.

“They have put a lot of good karma out into the community, and that definitely came back toward them,” Brown said.

Mark Hughes, a Washougal resident who worked at Washougal Lumber Co. from 2004 to 2009, said the business’s involvement in the community, including donations and sponsorships, particularly of local Little League teams, helped it thrive.

“They donated lots to the community and tried to be involved in the community whenever they could,” he said. “That made a big impact, just having their name out there and showing the support in the community.”

The business weathered the challenges of a fast-growing town, shifting economic conditions, the arrival of national chains and the rise of online shopping by offering services customers couldn’t find anywhere else, Brett Scott said.

“The treating plant is right on the other side of the train tracks,” said Brett Scott, pointing south. “Everybody around here gets their treated wood from right here. Since they’re so close, I made sure my treated wood was cheaper than anybody else in Clark County. That was kind of my niche.”

The Scotts hope to sell the building to someone who will carry on its legacy as a hardware business. Brett Scott said several companies have expressed interest but balked due to economic conditions.

“They tell me, ‘I can’t promise that six or eight months from now, if the economy changes, I won’t come to you and say I want it,’ ” Brett Scott said. “I say, ‘OK, well, at that time it’ll just be vacant buildings and a vacant lot and then you can move in and set it up the way you want.’ Having a lumber yard still established here would be fantastic.”

For many in Washougal, however, the loss extends beyond a business and marks the end of a community institution.

“A lot of people are going to be sad to see them go,” Brown said. “It’s going to be something that’s going to be talked about for a long time.”