History — Booth Kelly Makers District

c. 1910

Booth-Kelly Lumber Company in Springfield. Lumberyard in foreground; burner, sawmill building and log pond are in the background. Mill was at south end of 7th Street.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1910

Booth-Kelly Lumber Company in Springfield. Scene shows log pond in foreground; sawmill building and burner in background with Coburg Hills at far right. Mill was at south end of 7th Street.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

July 28, 1911

Fire at Booth-Kelly Lumber Company in Springfield on July 28, 1911. Scene shows portion of plant engulfed in flames and smoke. Cow in left foreground watches the activity. Mill was at south end of 7th Street.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

July 28, 1911

Fire at Booth-Kelly Lumber Company in Springfield. Scene shows unidentified men gathered in foreground. Sawmill and lumber yard are engulfed in flames and smoke, in the background. Mill was at south end of 7th Street.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1911

Springfield, Oregon, circa 1911. Overlooking the Booth-Kelly Mill after the fire and the city East from 6th Street to the Cascade foothills. Some fire damage shows at the right of the mill property, perhaps including a damaged wigwam burner.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1920

Overview of Booth Kelly Company lumber mill in Springfield. View looking north, Kelly Butte on far left in distance.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1920

Interior of Booth-Kelly Lumber Company in Springfield. Millworkers pose behind benches holding long boards. Mill was at south end of 7th Street.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1925

Overview of Booth-Kelly Lumber Company and Springfield, looking north. Mill buildings in foreground with town center in the distance. Smoke from mill smokestacks obscures horizon.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1927

Overview of Springfield. View of Booth Kelly Lumber Mill in foreground, residences in background.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1940

Booth Kelly employee drives mill tractor at the company’s Springfield plant.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1940

Aerial view of Booth-Kelly Lumber Company in Springfield, looking west. Log pond and plant buildings in foreground; town of Springfield can be seen in background, right. Mill was at south end of 7th Street.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1950

Overview of Springfield looking north from Booth-Kelly Lumber Company. Mill buildings in foreground; downtown Springfield in center of photo. Kelly Butte can be seen in background, left, and the Coburg Hills to the right.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

c. 1950

Overview of Springfield looking north from Booth-Kelly Lumber Company. Mill buildings in foreground with town and Coburg Hills in the distance.

Photo from Lane County Historical Museum

LINK

HISTORY OF THE BOOTH KELLY MILL

The company that would make Springfield a major industrial center was the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company, which was incorporated in 1896 by Robert and Henry Booth and George and Tom Kelly. In August 1901, the Booth-Kelly Corporation purchased the Springfield sawmill and several thousand acres of timberland in the region. [1]

The importance of the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company to Springfield’s economy is illustrated by the number of residents employed there. City directories of 1907 and 1911 clearly show that a majority of the population worked in some capacity for Booth-Kelly. Springfield became known as “Mill City,” and as it grew and prospered, many new people arrived looking for work. [1]

The booth kelly Mill Complex Today

The City of Springfield currently owns and operates the Booth-Kelly Center, which includes 17 acres of land and over 200,000 square feet of large industrial and commercial warehouse, storage, manufacturing and office spaces. Once a very productive lumber mill, Booth-Kelly is adjacent to the Springfield Mill Race and near historic Downtown Springfield.

The building is organized into 26 large industrial and commercial building spaces (including three parking areas) which are managed and leased by the City of Springfield. For more information about space for rent, contact:

Property Management Office
Springfield Development and Public Works Department
Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth Street (open M-F 8:00am – 5:00pm)
call 541.726.3753 or email dpw@springfield-or.gov

Site plan (as of 2013)

Additional Points of Interest

Featured

STUDENTS DESIGN FUTURE VISIONS FOR BOOTH KELLY SITE

In 2012 the Booth Kelly Mill site was the focus of a two-term architecture studio through the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP). Students were asked to turn the parcel into a project that would provide living-wage jobs and restore the environment of what used to be a thriving lumber mill.

HISTORY OF THE SPRINGFIELD MILL RACE

The 3.5 mile long canal was hand excavated by Elias Briggs, the founder of Springfield. With his son Isaac’s help, he dug the canal in 1852, using an ox-plow and shovels in order to provide power for the first grist and saw mills in the area.

Springfield Historic Context Statement

This is a really neat document that gives an in-depth account of Springfield's history and context. Highlights include the homemade raft that served as a Ferry across the Willamette, Springfield's distinction as "the only 'wet spot; between Salem and Oakland" during Prohibition, the influence of road and railway development, and the history of the millrace and timber industry in the area.

[1] http://editthis.info/lane_co_oregon/Booth-Kelly_Lumber_Company

[2] https://architecture.uoregon.edu/news/former-mill-site-springfield-tests-architecture-students%E2%80%99-creativity