1920s - Increase Foreign Needs for Timber Goods

A major 1923 earthquake in Japan generated a huge demand for wood products, and the mills of Everett flourished meeting those international demands.  As the Japanese rebuilt their homes, schools and other buildings, the lumber of Everett continued to supply the lumber for this reconstruction. Prior to the use of steel for construction framing, wood was considered the best structural solution in earthquake prone areas.    

However, by the time Roland Hartley was elected governor, the family shingle business had already begun to suffer. In 1928, Edward Hartley stated that he knew of at least four waterfron cedar mills that had been operating at a loss since 1923. The Clough-Hartley mill was probably included in that group. The worn-out mill was closed in 1929. City directories in the mid-to-kate 1930's identify the Clough-Hartley site as a retail lumber yard. A spectacular fire destroyed the mill on December 29, 1937. A 40-mile per hour gale wind from the south whipped the flames through the structure and it took several hours for firemen to control the blaze. The loss was confined to the building itseld. Virtually all machinery had been removed and the sparks that flew northward landed harmlessly in the log basin between 14th and 18th streets. No trace remains of the Clough-Hartly empire jewel that once occupied 60 acres of prime bayfront property.