Administration Building

Built in 1916-17, the Administrative Building became the hub of all the operations for the company town, saw mill, railroad and logging activities.  The Administration Building replaced office space that had previously been in the Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway depot.  Mr. Allison Laird promoted the idea of new offices after William Deary died in 1913, yet there is no record of who the architect of the attractive building was. 

Panoramic view of the city of Potlatch, no date, courtesy of the Potlatch Historical Society.

Once it was built, the Administrative Building was the pulse of the company town.   Many former company employees remember going to the pay window on the main floor to collect their paychecks, minus the charges made to the company store, and the $1 charge for the company’s hospital coverage plan. The building housed an efficient staff of executives and support staff.  Allison Laird directed the Potlatch Lumber Company, and Walter Gamble served as head of the W. I. & M. Railway. Miss Mabel Kelley was the legendary head secretary in charge for many years, presiding over the steno pool and keeping all company entities running smoothly.

Potlatch administration building, no date, courtesy of the Potlatch Historical Society.

The Potlatch Lumber Company was no ordinary lumber mill operation, but rather a complete cradle-to-grave enterprise that furnished worker housing, shopping, recreation, health care and indeed even burial services. As the company’s fortunes declined, most of the homes and buildings were sold off in the 1950’s, with the Administrative Building eventually becoming Potlatch City Hall.

Potlatch administration building, no date, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 12-03-101.

The building directly across from the Administrative Building on Sixth Street is the company town gymnasium, designed by A.M. Holmes, and built in 1916 after the first gymnasium burned to the ground in 1915. The gym boasted a hard rock maple basketball court, smoking and reading rooms, with showers and lockers in the basement. It remained a community center for many years, hosting boxing tournaments, indoor baseball, roller skating, school lunch programs, and for a time, city jail and animal impoundment facilities.




References:

Petersen, Keith C., Company Town: Potlatch, Idaho, and the Potlatch Lumber Company. (Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press, 1987).

Potlatch Corporation Records, various types of records, Potlatch Historical Society, Potlatch, ID.

Potlatch Historical Society.