The timber industry in Greenbrier County developed alongside the region’s natural resources, transportation networks, and economic shifts, playing a major role in shaping the valley’s landscape and communities.

Early Logging and Transportation
Before railroads, settlers and local entrepreneurs used rivers like the Greenbrier to move timber. Logs were floated downstream or chained into rafts for transport to sawmills or market centers.

Key Companies and Mills

• St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company (Ronceverte, 1880s) was one of the first major mills in the county
• Meadow River Lumber Company, which started in 1909, was developed by the Raines brothers, (who named their company town Rainelle). The brothers built a sawmill, a town, and a railroad, and, at one time, the Meadow River Lumber Company was the largest hardwood mill in the world.
  Among some of the products they produced were shoe heels, molding and trim, lumber for building, pianos, coffins, and even panels for the side panels on some motor vehicles.