Stearnswood History
The Stearns Lumber Co. was founded in February, 1892, when E.J. Stearns purchased the tiny building and limited stock of the Stillwater Lumber company, then located in the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue. He started in a small way with a one-room office and no storage sheds. Adopting the slogan, “Where the Good Grades Come From”, the business was operated on the principles of good materials, convenient service and square dealing.
During the next two decades, lumber yards in surrounding communities were purchased, until the line consisted of 13 lumber yards at one time. The first of these, at Buffalo Lake, was acquired in 1897 and within ten years yards at Hector, Young America, and Plato were purchased. Businesses at Silver Lake, Stewart, New Germany and St. Bonifacius were also acquired before 1920 and later yards were opened at Cosmos, Lake Lillian, Corvuso, Blomkest and Gibbon.
In 1923, E.J. Stearns asked his son, Spencer, to return to Hutchinson to take over the general management of Stearns Lumber Co. For the next 15 years, Spencer worked with his father in guiding the business through very difficult times. Under Spencer’s leadership manufacturing operations included kitchen cabinets, boats, windows, and panelized vacation homes were added to the product line. When the Depression hit it became extremely difficult to keep things operating as before. However, after several years of trading crops for cement and taking garden trucks in payment of bills, business again began to pick up.
Spencer became president and general manager after the death of his father E.J., in 1939.
In the meantime, Spencer’s two sons had grown up and prepared themselves to carry on the business founded by their grandfather in pioneer times. In 1926, expansion was needed at the Hutchinson location. An office wing and a new warehouse were added to give customers more prompt and efficient service. At that time the little one-room office building which had remained on the Stearns corner for sentimental reasons was taken away.
A second overhauling took place in 1948 when the entire front was completely renovated and modernized to lead the way in the almost complete face-lifting of Main Street that followed in the next few years. Also, in 1948, a new building on Glen Street was erected which was used to manufacture millwork items and cabinets. Later it housed the manufacturing division which dealt in the packaging and packing of manufactured items for many industries in the Upper Midwest. The manufacture of boxes and crates for export shipment became one of the major phases of the business.
Spencer’s sons, Robert and Ned, both worked with their father in managing Stearns Lumber Co. until Spencer’s death in 1957, when Robert became president of the company. By this time, the Hutchinson yard was large enough to serve a wide trading area and all the smaller branches were sold off and efforts were concentrated in Hutchinson.
In 1959, the Stearns Lumber Co. changed its name to Stearnswood Inc.
The name changed to reflect the change in business emphasis and moved to its current location at 3rd Avenue N.W. Two-thirds of the new location was taken up by the retail branch while the balance was used by the small-but-growing manufacturing division that built wooden pallets, crates, boxes, and affiliated packaging. The retail and modular home building divisions were sold in 1972 and Stearnswood began concentrating on the business of designing and manufacturing wooden shipping containers and related packaging materials.
Starting in 1982, the fourth generation began its leadership. Bob’s son Roger became the fourth president of the family business and added Minnesota’s first heavy-duty Triplewall corrugated fiberboard converting operation to Stearnswoods production abilities. In the early 2000’s, Roger’s younger brother Corey became the companies fifth president. The fourth generation propelled Stearnswood to become one of the Midwest’s largest producers of heavy-duty, high-performance, transport packaging.
The legacy lives on in the sixth generation.
Since 2021, the same commitment to quality and service continues to be the cornerstone of the business under the direction of Mark Stearns, Roger’s youngest son and now the sixth president of Stearnswood. We are proud of our heritage and of our employees who have helped maintain our tradition of excellence for over a hundred and thirty years.
