A Brief History of Scotch
On November 22, 1888, the mill officially began as a partnership between Marcus B. Behrman and Joseph Zimmerman, who had acquired eight acres of land and a total of $3,850.00 each in either cash or real property to form the Virgin Pine Lumber Company. The company started operating at a crossing on the new Mobile and Birmingham Railroad known as Wade's Station, so named for a local family. In 1889, not only was the name of the community changed to Behrman, but the Virgin Pine Lumber Company was sold to a Canadian.
In 1892, he took on a fellow Canadian as a partner and the two men changed the name from the Virgin Pine Lumber Company to a name in honor of the men's Scottish ancestry. Thus, the name by which the company used to be known by — Scotch Lumber Company — was established. Once again, ownership of the lumber company changed hands in 1896 as a group of New York investors purchased the business. A tradition had been established in the past: when a change in ownership of the company occurred, a new postmaster was appointed. When Mr. George R. Hannon became the new postmaster, he also changed the town name to his old hometown of Fulton, New York; so Fulton, Alabama, has remained the name until today.
On March 5, 1902, W. D. Harrigan Sr. of Rhinelander, Wisconsin and Fredrick Herrick of Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, purchased the Scotch Lumber Company. Following tradition, Harrigan became the postmaster as well as secretary-treasurer of the company. He moved the post office into the company's commissary so employees could operate it under his direction. Herrick was named President and a friend of his, named Marvin Hughitt, became Vice-President. This commissary used brass tokens and paper coupons.
Mr. Harrigan wanted the employees of this company to be prosperous, but also enjoy as many conveniences as possible. He built the first good road to Grove Hill, as it was the county seat, donated steel to construct a bridge over Bassett's Creek, established station telephone service, and installed a water pump house and well, in addition to rental homes. He also constructed a commissary full of groceries and supplies, the county's first four-hole golf course and swimming hole, and the first motion picture theater in Clarke County. Upon an annual return from the North, Mr. Harrigan brought the town's first automobile back to Fulton.
