J. H. Baxter and Co.
J. H. Baxter & Co. is an American wood products treatment company founded in 1896 and incorporated in 1915. The company produces products such as railroad ties, and utility poles and crossarms.
History
J. H. Baxter & Co. began as a lumber wholesaler in San Francisco in 1896.[1][2] After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Baxter began distributing timber to sawmills on the West Coast using its own sailing ships.[2] Later, it shipped wood using steamships.
The company was incorporated in 1915.[1] It began producing preserved wood in 1915.[2] Among the chemicals used in the treatment process are creosote and pentachlorophenol (PCP).[3] Some of their products were branded Baxco.
The company has been owned by four successive generations of the Baxter family.[4] The company produces products such as railroad ties, and utility poles and crossarms.[5]
Plants
Eugene, Oregon
Baxter's Eugene, Oregon plant is located in a mixed industrial/residential zone of the Bethel neighborhood. Baxter began treating wood at the plant in 1943.[6] In the 1980s, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality began investigating the plant's use of chemicals.[6] The plant was closed in 2022.[3]
- Weed, California
The former J. H. Baxter plant in Weed, California is a Superfund cleanup site.[7] Wood preservation activities began at the plant in 1937.[8] The Weed plant was partially owned by Roseburg Forest Products.[8]
As of 2023, other locations included Alameda and San Mateo, California, and its TimberWood Products division in Brookline, New Hampshire.[9]
Memberships
See also
- Charles R. McCormick Lumber Company, McCormick partnered with J. H. Baxter's nephew to form McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Co.
- Pacific Creosoting Company, once part of J. H. Baxter; one iteration was Baxter-Wycoff Company
References
- ^ a b c "About J.H. Baxter & Co". J.H. Baxter & Co. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Statement to Our Employees and Community". J.H. Baxter & Co. January 31, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ a b "Health Consultation Final Release: JH Baxter Neighborhood Investigation Eugene Oregon" (PDF). Oregon Health Authority. 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ "The New Baxter: Reformulating a 100-Year-Old Treater". Merchant Magazine: 16-17. January 1996. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ "J.H. Baxter Plant". Oregon Health Authority. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Meadows, Gold and KVAL-TV staff (January 23, 2025). "Guilty Plea in J.H. Baxter Criminal Case a 'Victory' Years in the Making". KPIC. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ "Superfund Site: J.H. Baxter & Co. Weed, CA". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ a b "Superfund Site: J.H. Baxter & Co. Weed, CA Cleanup Activities". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ Bull, Brian (May 2, 2023). "Lawsuits Against J.H. Baxter Advance, But Questions Hover Over Company's Fiscal Status and Assets". KLCC. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
External links
- "J.H. Baxter & Co., With Roots in the Last Century, Starts 1956 with New Officers, Mergers, Streamlining". The California Lumber Merchant: 32–33, 56–57. December 1955.
- The J.H. Baxter & Co. Wood Treatment Facility in West Eugene storymap by OSU, DEQ, OHA, LRAPA, and the City of Eugene