John M. CRAIG
"The manufacture of lumber has become in recent years one of the leading industries of Oklahoma. This was made possible by legislation permitting the purchase or lease of lands or timber rights on lands of the old Choctaw Nation, wherein is situated one of the most important timber belts for lumber purposes in the United States. McCurtain County contains a large percentage of such lands, but until ten years ago there was little done in the Choctaw country toward making use of its valuable timber. It was in 1904 that the Choctaw Lumber Company began buying timber here, and, soon learning of the region's possibilities, prepared for the period of important development that began a few years later. Lack of transportation facilities was the leading hindrance to development at the start, but this the company overcame by the building of a railroad from Valliant, a point on the Frisco Railroad, in the southern part of McCurtain County, to a new town the company called Broken Bow, and then followed, in 1910, the erection at Bismarck, a station on the new road, of a sawmill with a capacity of 125,000 ft. of lumber per day. Two years later the company built at Broken Bow another mill, with a capacity of 100,000 ft. per day. In the meantime the concern had commenced disposing of its lands from which valuable timber had been taken, the lands being sold to settlers in small tracts for farming purposes. Thus was opened the way for the agricultural development of a large section of the northern part of the county which had theretofore been only sparsely populated. Besides creating important sawmill industries this company made possible the building of a town at Broken Bow of 2,500 population with a considerable support from farming and ranching communities. Several hundred men are employed in the mills of this company and its pay roll is among the largest of the industrial institutions of the Southwest. The general office of the company is at Kansas City, and the present officers are: Herman DIERKS, of Kansas City, president; and John M. CRAIG, manager of the timber department, at Idabel..
John M. CRAIG has become an important factor in the lumber industry of Oklahoma solely through the medium of his own efforts, having worked his way up from the most humble capacity, through the various departments, and thus familiarizing himself thoroughly with every department and detail of the business. He was born in Benton County, Arkansas, March 14, 1886, and is a son of Albert and Wincie (McDAVID) CRAIG. There was one other child in the family who is now Mrs. Herbert DIERKS of Kansas City, wife of one of the officials of the Choctaw Lumber Company. After attending the public schools of Arkansas, John M. CRAIG enrolled as a student at Washita Baptist College, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and when his course was completed there secured employment as bookkeeper in the First National Bank of DeQueen, Arkansas. About this time, he began to realize the great possibilities of the lumber industry in this section of the country, and in order to get experience in the business accepted a position as water carrier for a sawmill. In 1909 he went into the office of the company at DeQueen, later was transferred to the Idabel office as assistant manager, and in 1913, was promoted to his present position as manager. While best known in the lumber trade, Mr. CRAIG has other interests, and is now vice president of the First National Bank of Broken Bow.
Mr. Craig was married at DeQueen, Arkansas, March 27, 1910, to Miss Ola LAKE, and they have three children: John Lake, who was born in 1911; and Martha and Margaret, twins, born in February, 1915. Mr. Craig is a member of the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in the Consistory at McAlester and the Shrine at Muskogee. His residence is maintained at Idabel."