Stillwater's Last Lumber Baron Lecture with Bill McGrath

Join Bill McGrath as he tells entertaining and interesting stories of his grandfather, James E. McGrath, Stillwater's last lumber baron.

One might think, with the fortune his grandfather accumulated, that Bill McGrath would be hanging out with Amazon's Jeff Bezos or Tesla's Elon Musk.

Find out what happened to all those white pine dollars. Be prepared for tales from the Snake River, four bad fires, a broken compass, courtroom accusations, and false teeth. How did one feed 1,200 lumberjacks in February? Why was there no talking in dining halls? Did James get lost in the woods? Did he make money off stolen land? Did he drink, smoke, and cuss? And who was “Emma?”

Join us for a rags-to-riches-to-rags tale about a man whose first job was sweeping sawdust in a mill.