Griffith Lumber is a fourth generation sawmill operation that was founded in 1933 in Woolwine, Virginia at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Earl Griffith began the business with an old Vance sawmill and boiler bought from his dad.  Earl's sons, Bruce and Bill, joined the business in 1972 along with Bill’s son, Bud, coming later.
Bruce, Bill and Bud are now the owners and managers with Bruce’s daughter Kara G. Ward being the safety director. Larry Cockram is the stacking stick and yard manager; Sammy Morrison is the Woolwine mill manager; Stacy Dillon is the Floyd mill manager; Marlon Clark is the office manager.

The main products include Appalachian Hardwood lumber, stacking sticks, mulch, chips and sawdust. Dry kilns have been started but not complete.

On the night of April 23, 2009 a devastating  fire of unknown origin completely destroyed the two sawmill operation that forced the shutdown of the sawmill operation and the layoff of over 35 employees.

Determined to get the employees back to work as soon as possible, several employees assisted with the clean up and started the rebuilding of the new sawmill. A sawmill that had been shut down in Floyd was leased and the rest of the employees plus more were put back to work there running two shifts. Another sawmill in Bassett was leased to custom saw Griffith’s logs to increase needed lumber production to provide for customers.

Sawmill parts were sought and bought all over the U.S. and Canada trying to piece together a modern, computerized, yield efficient, high production sawmill. After the insurance settlement, a 9 month delay getting proper permits and blue prints from the architects that were required in today’s American business climate, the mill construction was fully started in the summer of 2010 and completed in September of 2011.

Production in a limited manner began in September while trying to get the machinery tuned in and the bugs out and to train the employees to run the new machinery. Full production of about 50,000 board feet of lumber per day has not been achieved yet but improving daily.

The main machines include a debarker, log metal detector, a 4 headblock linear positioning Corley carriage with a Lewis Controls scanner and computerized setworks and a shotgun feed. It has a 6 ft McDonough band headrig and 5 ft McDonough line bar band resaw, an 8” combination gang edger and a drop saw trimmer.

Bark is double ground and loaded directly into live bottom trailers and hauled to customers. Chips and sawdust are loaded into open top trailers and hauled to various customers.   . 

Today, Griffith Lumber Company, Inc. is among the largest and most enduring employers in Patrick County, Virginia, with 54 employees that produce millions of board feet of lumber and millions of stacking sticks each year.  A lot has changed over the years, but the same time-honored commitment to quality that Earl Griffith had in 1933 is still alive today.

We invite you to learn more about our operations, our people, and our industry.  Please contact us for your Appalachian hardwood lumber, stacking sticks, mulch, chip, biomass fuel and mountain land needs.