A Muddy Mix-Up in the Timber Yard

“And we are the more disappointed because the large timber which we needed so badly was not loaded first, as we instructed all parties to do.”

Pull up a chair, neighbors, because I have found a real treasure in the archives today. This letter, dated March 4th, 1878, comes from the old Charleston hub-making firm of Stewart, Wallace & Welty. It is a beautiful piece of history, written on their official company letterhead. You can see the names of the partners from Ohio and West Virginia right at the top, a reminder of how folks worked together across state lines even then. The paper has aged gracefully, showing those gentle folds and the golden tint of nearly a century and a half gone by. It is written in a clear, flowing cursive that makes you feel like the author is right there in the room with you. One of the most charming bits is how they squeezed in the final words—the signature and a little postscript are written upside-down in the top margins to save every bit of paper!

The letter tells a story of a bit of a headache for the manufacturers. They were writing to Mr. Laban Gwinn over in Quinnimont about a shipment of timber that did not go quite right. You see, they had specifically marked the big, choice logs they needed with ‘keel’—a kind of heavy wax crayon—but when the train car arrived, those big pieces were missing. Instead, they got smaller ‘post timber’ that they did not really want. It seems the roads were muddy, the railroad conductor was a bit confused, and the hub makers were left feeling pretty disappointed, especially since they were charged full price for the freight even though the car was missing the best wood.

It is a wonderful reminder that while the world has changed, the little troubles of doing business have not changed much at all. We can almost see them out there by the muddy switch, unloading those forty heavy sticks of oak or elm while grumbling about the ones left behind. The postscript even mentions the author, J.H., was suffering from a bout of rheumatism, yet he still took the time to write. Today, this letter is more than just a business complaint; it is a heartbeat from the past, showing us the grit and the personal touch that built our communities. It reminds us that behind every industry, then and now, there are people just trying to do their best and get the right tools for the job.

Original Transcription

[Letterhead]
Stewart, Wallace & Welty,
Manufacturers of OAK, ELM, GUM AND LOCUST HUBS.
Locust Hubs a Specialty.
J. A. STEWART, Nevada, Ohio. W. H. WALLACE, Steubenville, Ohio. H. C. WELTY, Charleston, W. Va.

Charleston, West Va., March 4th 1878

Mr, Laban Gwinn
Quinnimont, W. Va

Dear Sir:
A car load of timber came from your place some time ago, and the roads being very muddy we had it unloaded at the switch [crossed out: and hauled it up] as we needed it, that is the timber we bought and marked up there, and timber that was not marked, that would make hubs, — forty sticks in all. The balance on the car — 16 sticks — being post timber, we have left at the switch.

Having been very busy for the past month, we haven’t taken time to inquire of you why the timber was sent as it was. We gave explicit orders to the conductor of the material train, and the agent at Quinnimont what timber to load, (that marked with keel) and we have thought it very strange that you living near the timber, and the watchman within a few steps of it, and both of you agreeing to look after it somewhat when loaded, that it should come as it did.

And we are the more disappointed because the large timber which we needed so badly was not loaded first, as we instructed all parties to do. We blamed the material train for it and wanted a deduction on the freight from the agent here, but he would not let us have any unless we took it all, paying full freight. So the question naturally arises who is to blame and what are we going to do about it?

We are short ten sticks mostly, or all large timber, and we remember five or six 15 inch sticks which were not on the car, & the very timber which sold the whole car load. Have you found sale for pins yet? If not, and Knowing about what we want, Could you not make out a car load with what is already there? — of choice timber, fully 9 inches at the smaller end, and deliver on car here at our factory prices, one cent per inch. With the 56 pieces sent, the car was only overloaded $2.00, Hence could load 550 ft. including large timber there.

[Written upside down at top of Page 2]
Yours Truly
Stewart, Wallace & Welty

[Written upside down at top of Page 1]
P.S. I have just now time to write, having been crippled by rheumatism for a few days: but after all can only state the facts
Yours Truly J H