This lumber yard was established and chartered in 1921 by Love Lumber Company. This lumber yard was located at 2302 Fenton Road which is located on the South Side of Flint, Michigan and was responsible for the storage of treated lumber. Love Lumber Company owned this lumber yard from 1921 until 1938.
James Lumber Company acquired the lumber yard in 1938. Their company was responsible for the storage of treated lumber.
Storage buildings consisted of long 1-story rectangular buildings that were constructed using wood and aluminum. These aluminum buildings were placed on concrete block foundations. Underneath these concrete block foundations basements. Each of these 1-story rectangular buildings had a basement. (Ref: http://www.thelandbank.org/downloads/lb_19017_renovation_of_2302_fenton_rd.pdf)
James Lumber was located on a 3.17 acres lot near Grand Trunk Railroad. The lot size was 137,911 square feet. Floor size of this lot was 13,323 square feet. At times this lumber yard served as a trucking terminal. (Ref: https://www.xome.com/realestate/2302-fenton-rd-flint-mi-48507-63556907)
A railroad spur traversed through the central portion of the subject property from 1938 to the 1970s. The railroad spur was disassembled sometime during the 1970s.
Cortera reported that James Lumber provided lumber and other related building materials for building materials dealers in the Flint area. (Ref: https://start.cortera.com/company/research/k3o7lxm2k/james-lumber-co/)
Their mission statements were as followed.:
James Lumber's Mission Statement is: "Professionalism and Teamwork, Building Your Future." This is our common goal, this is the promise to our customers, this is our promise to our team members. This statement is simple but powerful.
James Lumber will stock a large variety of quality products. The James Lumber team will supply materials to its customers with the lowest procurement cost and the highest quality, maximizing customer satisfaction.
James Lumber will provide complete service. The James Lumber team will be skilled in procuring, estimating, selling, loading, delivering, and billing materials in a manner resulting in highly satisfied customers.
(Ref: https://web.archive.org/web/20060324073245/http://www.jameslumber.com/)
Detroit Free Press had the address for James Lumber Yard listed under 2452 Fenton Road. By then James Lumber Yard had acquired more acreage. They had purchased more land as time went on. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11789704/detroit-free-press/)
James Lumber closed in early 2007. The buildings were already vacant by then as reported in the Flint Journal and mlive.com. (Ref: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2008/09/officials_investigating_suspic.html)
James Lumber has seen its fair share of suspicious activities such as fires and vandalism. James Lumber is no stranger to suspicious fires either.
A fire broke out inside of a wood warehouse before 2 AM on September 10, 2008. The fire was contained to about 20% percent. Lucking no one was injured during the fire as nobody was in the vicinity. No ignition source could be traced to this fire. (Ref: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2008/09/officials_investigating_suspic.html)
Another fire broke out at the former James Lumber Yard on the night of April 15, 2010. The fire caused significant damage to one building to the point of becoming a total loss. A fire burned a large hole in the roof. This building was demolished not too long shortly afterwards. Fire officials never figured out the ignition source of this fire. (Ref: https://nbc25news.com/news/local/old-james-lumber-yard-fire-in-flint)
A large storage building which was a warehouse had been on fire by the time fire crews arrived. The warehouse collapsed just minutes later. Of course this was not a fire caused by electrical wiring as there had been no electricity in the building for 3 years. The warehouse had been used for storage space for grocery carts and refrigeration equipment. (Ref: https://abc7ny.com/archive/7389936/)
A Phase I environmental assessment was conducted by AKT Peerless in 2009. According to the results of a 2009 subsurface investigation, concentrations of arsenic and selenium were identified within shallow soil samples in excess amounts. Arsenic and selenium came from the on-site operations as a lumber yard. Arsenic contaminants were present in the soil. (Ref: PHASE I ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT 2302 Fenton Road, Flint, Michigan)
In summer 2019, teenagers volunteered to clean up the former James Lumber Yard property as part of the 2019 Summer Youth Initiative (SYI) Volunteer Service Day. Grass was cut, graffiti had been painted over, and debris was disposed. The latter property will soon become a new facilities ground for the Genesee County Land Bank. (Ref: https://www.thehubflint.com/summer-youth-initiative-participants-help-beautify-flints-neighborhoods/)
Today only two metal buildings remain extant on this property. All of the other buildings were torn down between 2010 and 2016. Much of the lumber yard is covered in overgrown vegetation.
James Lumber Yard was located at 2302 Fenton Road, Flint, Michigan, US 48507, 2510 Fenton Road, Flint, Michigan, US 48507, and 2452 Fenton Road, Flint, Michigan, US 48507.
Their website was www.jameslumber.com. Their phone number was 810-239-1491 and their fax number was 219-285-6515. (Ref: https://www.cylex.us.com/company/james-lumber-204680.html)
*James Lumber & Ace Hardware went under several names as a business such as James Lumber & Ace Hardware, James Lumber Company, James Lmbr, James Lumber Co, James Lumber & Coal Co., and Flint Association of Home Builders.
*Ace Hardware bought out James Lumber at one point.
*James Lumber also had an address at the location of 2510 Fenton Road, Flint, Michigan, US 48507.
*Mr B’s Market used to actually be a part of the lumber yard and James Lumber Company.
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