Trade Tokens O-P

Around 1889, Henry S. Wilson and A. E. Wilson, brothers from Saginaw, Michigan, visited the Tilghman Cypress Company mill in Palatka, Florida, while touring the Ocklawaha River. The Wilson brothers subsequently purchased the Tilghman Cypress Company in 1891 from Noah J. Tilghman and Sons. The Wilson Cypress Company began operations in the Palatka area in 1893. In 1898, the Wilson Cypress Company mill was built in Palatka. By the turn of the century, the company became the second largest cypress mill in the world. In 1926, the company’s employees numbered over 600 and the company had extensive land holdings in North Florida. The company ceased mill operations on December 5, 1944. The company was formally dissolved in 1983.

The founders of the Wilson Cypress Company included several men from Saginaw, Michigan: C. A. Rust, H.S. and A.E. Wilson, J.G. McPherson, and P. Corcoran, as well as John F. Rust of Cleveland, Ohio, and D.W. Rust of Detroit, Michigan. On October 19, 1891, Henry S. Wilson, Wm. G. Tilghman and John Q. Tilghman were elected the first directors of the Wilson Cypress Company. Henry S. Wilson was elected the President, Noah J. Tilghman the Vice President, and John Q. Tilghman the Secretary-Treasurer.