Perry Lumber Company

Perry Lumber Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Timber, Logging railroad
Founded	1901
Defunct	1905
Headquarters	Perry County , United States
Products	Sawn lumber, extract wood

The Perry Lumber Company was a timber enterprise active in the early 1900s, situated in Perry County, Pennsylvania.

Established by entrepreneurs from Harrisburg around the turn of the century, the firm had acquired eleven forest parcels near Franklin County by the end of 1901. Its offerings comprised both sawn lumber and extract wood supplied to a tannery located in Newport. Initially, the company aimed to convert the Newport and Shermans Valley Railroad to a standard gauge track to facilitate more efficient transportation; however, negotiations with the railroad’s owner, David Gring, were unsuccessful. As a result, Perry Lumber built its own railway utilizing the narrow gauge of 3 feet from the N&SV system.

The Perry Lumber Railroad made use of a trackbed originally cleared by the Path Valley Railroad. Beginning at New Germantown—where it connected with the N&SV—the line stretched approximately 12 miles through challenging terrain to Couch Camp near Shaeffer Run. Operations included a single Class B 25-ton Climax locomotive named Alfarata, stationed at New Germantown, along with thirty logging cars manufactured by the N&SV workshops.

Portable sawmills were moved along this rail line to process timber primarily consisting of white pine, white oak, chestnut, and hemlock species. In addition to lumber products, bark from chestnut, hemlock, and oak trees was transported as extract wood destined for Newport. After depleting its timber supplies by 1905, Perry Lumber discontinued its activities and sold off its machinery to other local firms. Subsequently, in 1907, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased these lands to incorporate them into the McClure Division of Tuscarora State Forest. Sections of the former railroad’s route are now part of Fowlers Hollow State Park.