By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
ALLEGANY — Potter Lumber Company, a 115-year-old Allegany company located on the Five Mile Road, has announced the lumber mill will close in the coming months.
The Potter Family sold the lumber mill, one of Cattaraugus County’s largest remaining lumber mills, to the Baillie Lumber Co., one of the country’s largest hardwood lumber manufacturers, more than 10 years ago.
“Significant headwinds created by tariffs, in conjunction with other market challenges, has unfortunately led to the point where a difficult decision was made to wind down the operations at Potter Lumber,” Baillie spokeswoman Jill Meyer said in an email to the Olean Star on Thursday.
No specific timetable for the closing was disclosed in the email.
“We are currently in the initial part of the process of an orderly wind up of the location that will take place over the next several months,” Meyer said. “When this is complete the facility will continue to serve as a log yard.”
Meyer did not respond to a follow-up question of how many employees were at Potter Lumber.
Baillie Lumber has 13 lumber mills, five of which are in New York state. The Allegany location and three other New York sites also have dry kiln operations.
Potter Lumber Co., started the water-powered mill on Five Mile Creek 1910. The mill advanced to steam power in the 1940s and electricity powers the double cut band mill.
Potter Lumber Co. has access to some of the finest hardwoods in the U.S., according to its website. They include: ash, cherry, hard maple, poplar, red oak, soft maple and white oak.
The loss of jobs will likely spread past Potter Lumber Co. to contractors who survey, cut and transport logs and others associated with the logging industry.
Much of the hardwood logs harvested in Cattaraugus County are sawn into lumber by Amish sawmills. Potter Lumber Co. was one of the biggest non-Amish mills.
It’s unclear whether any of the other four mill sites in New York will be affected. There are New York mills in Cayuga, Davenport, Owego and Smyrna.
One source in the county’s wood industry said Potter Lumber was a victim of an oversupply of hardwoods at a time when there is less and less wood going into housing construction.
The materials being used instead include plastics and other products that are manufactured in China. Those products too will become more expensive under tariffs.
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
