Long-Bell Lumber Company

In 1887, Robert A. Long and Victor Bell formed the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Columbus, Kansas. The Long-Bell Lumber Company branched out using balanced vertical integration to control all aspects of lumber from the sawmills to the retail lumber yard. As the company expanded it moved further south and eventually had holdings in Arkansas, Oklahoma Indian Territory, and Louisiana, before heading west to Washington.

The company grew into one of the largest conglomerates of wood products of the era, with holdings in many states and under many subsidiary names, and sold out to International Paper in 1956.