Historic Omaha

“The Chicago Lumber Company have
just opened in this city, a large and desirable
Stock of Lumber, and all kinds of building
material. Office and yard foot of Douglas
Street,” published June 10, 1876, in the
Omaha Republican.
Frank Colpetzer and Charles Guiou came to
Omaha from Chicago to open The Chicago
Lumber Company of Omaha. M. T. Green,
owner of The Chicago Lumber Company in
Chicago, Illinois, saw Nebraska as an exciting
opportunity to expand his business. A new
partner, Henry F. Cady joined the company in
1877. By 1881, The Chicago Lumber Company
of Omaha had branch-yards throughout
Nebraska and maintained an inventory of
twenty million board feet of lumber in its
Omaha location.
In 1894 the Omaha partners purchased The
Chicago Lumber Company of Omaha from
M. T. Green. In 1910 Charles Guiou and Henry
Cady sold their shares to Frank Colpetzer. In
1952 Lawrence Simpson purchased the
business. Simpson began selling stock to key
employees. He retained a majority interest until
his death in 1968. Today the company remains
one hundred percent employee owned.
In addition to a large retail and wholesale
operation at its main location, Fourteenth
and Pierce Streets, The Chicago Lumber
Company of Omaha also owns and operates
nine other building centers. Locations in
Nebraska are Ainsworth, Alliance, Blue Hill,
Geneva, Grand Island, Nebraska City, and
Norfolk. In Wyoming, the building center is
located in Torrington. The Marvin Window
and Door Store is located at 320 North 115th
Street in Omaha, Nebraska. A brokerage
firm, Walter T. Johnson Lumber Company, is
located at the company’s headquarters at
1324 Pierce Street.
As The Chicago Lumber Company of
Omaha has adapted to changing times, it has
become one of the few lumber companies in
the entire nation to survive since 1876 under
the same name and with a continuity of
ownership and management. During its 126
year history, only seven men have served as
president of The Chicago Lumber Company
of Omaha: Frank G. Colpetzer, 1894-1916;
Moshier G. Colpetzer, 1916-1945; Lawrence
G. Simpson, 1945-1957; Fred L. Miller, 1957-
1973; Warren L. Hotz, 1973-1978; Larry L.
Johansen, 1978-2000; Walter R. Cady, 2000
to present.
The company has not given in to adversity.
When its original office was destroyed by
Missouri River floodwaters, the company
moved to higher ground. When the current
office was nearly destroyed by fire in 1993,
the company remodeled, making use of
skylights and the original tin ceiling. When a
fire in 2000 destroyed three major warehouses,
the company rebuilt a forty-eight-thousandsquare-foot
warehouse. Having learned from
its history, The Chicago Lumber Company of
Omaha will continue to transition itself for
future growth.
THE CHICAGO
LUMBER
COMPANY OF
OMAHA
✧
Above: The Chicago Lumber Company
building in the 1800s.
Below: Current headquarters of The
Chicago Lumber Company on 1324 Pierce
Street in Omaha.
THE MARKETPLACE
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