KNOX LUMBER COMPANY:

An Inventory of Its Company Records

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HISTORY OF KNOX LUMBER COMPANY

Knox Lumber Company was founded in 1961 by Larry Platt, Jr. and several associates as a subsidiary of Midway-Platt Company, a Saint Paul-based lumber and hardware wholesaler. Midway-Platt was established in a 1957 merger of Midway Lumber Company and Platt Hardware Company, both founded by Lawrence Platt, Sr.

The first Knox store was opened in the Midway area of Saint Paul in October 1961. Additional stores were opened in Brooklyn Park (1964), Burnsville (1967), Little Canada (1972), Duluth (1977), Hopkins (1979), and Newport (1984), Minnesota; Fargo, North Dakota (1974); Billings, Montana (1975); and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1978).

Knox was a Twin Cities pioneer in the cash-and-carry retail lumber yard business. Much of its clientele consisted of the "do-it-yourself" homeowner. The first Knox store opened carrying only such basic items as lumber, plywood, insulation, mill work, plaster board, oak flooring, nails, builder's hardware, lock sets, paint, and window units. Knox eventually evolved into a "home center" with its stores stocking more than 21,000 items.

In 1972 Midway-Platt was acquired by Shelter Corporation of America; Knox was spun off as a separate public company in 1974. Knox was acquired by Southwest Forest Industries in 1980. In 1985 Southwest sold Knox to the Sterling Group, a Houston, Texas-based investment firm. Sterling sold Knox to Kansas City-based Payless Cashways, Inc. in 1986, which has since re-focused the business toward professional contractors. Local management of Knox ended in 1991, when Payless absorbed operational responsibility for the company.

Larry Platt, Jr. was born on November 10, 1923, the oldest of two children born to Lawrence and Ruth Platt. Platt Sr. started Midway Lumber Company in 1943, and Platt Hardware Company in 1951. During World War II Platt Jr. served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was shot down over Germany in 1944, and spent ten months as a German prisoner of war.

Platt Jr. became the president of both Midway Lumber and Platt Hardware following the death of his father in 1957, and instigated the merger of the two companies into Midway-Platt Company. He served as president of Knox for many years. Platt Jr. left Knox in 1985, and he and three former Knox executives formed Hartman Platt & Associates, a consulting firm that later purchased the 10,000 Auto Parts chain of stores. Platt Jr. died on February 21, 1996.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION

The collection includes catalogs and price lists, clippings from newspapers and trade journals, employee manuals and newsletters, a few photographs, annual reports from Knox's non-Minnesota parent companies, scattered audit reports and financial statements, prospectuses, market analysis reports, advertising circulars, a corporate history (1996), and other materials relating to Knox Lumber Company, its predecessors, and its parent companies. There are how-to pamphlets and publications created by Knox for its customers, and information about home improvement project seminars offered by the company. There are examples of print advertising, and a VHS videocassette containing 16 television commercials produced for Knox by the Fallon McElligott advertising agency.

There is information about Larry Platt and other company executives, their management philosophy, and the customers they targeted: the do-it-yourself homeowner and the small contractor.

There is information about the creation of the company by Platt Jr. and his associates, the growth and development of the firm, its sale to other companies in an effort to secure capital for expansion, and the impact upon Knox of these changes in ownership.

A series of reminiscences and letters home (1944-1945) describe Platt Jr.'s experiences in German prisoner of war camps during the waning months of World War II. There are also letters and telegrams to Platt's parents from American military officials relating to his captivity and eventual return home.

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RELATED MATERIALS

Knox Lumber Company annual reports are in the Minnesota Historical Society serials collection.

Some Knox product catalogs are in the Minnesota Historical Society book collection.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

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