The Lumber King of Appalachia

William McClellan Ritter didn’t just cut down trees, he built an empire. In this week’s episode, we tell his story, from Pennsylvania farm boy to head of one of the world’s largest lumber companies. He built railroads, ran coal mines, advised the U.S. war effort in World War I and once gifted $3 million to his workers.

But that story also includes the cutting down of much of Appalachia’s old growth forests and forced labor charges that stained his legacy.

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