James Curry
The subject of this sketch, one of the most energetic business men of Wooster, was born in Westmore- land County, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1816. His father's name was David, whose occupation was that of carpenter and builder, in which pursuit he brought up his son James. When he had completed his trade, at eighteen years, Mr. Curry left home and worked as a jour for two years, then came to Ohio, locating in Washington Township, Holmes County. Here he began house and bar building, with headquarters at Nashville, success- fully following his trade until removing to Wooster, in the spring of 1853.
This was just after the railroad had been opend to Wooster, and when the citizens generally, for a time, were stimulated to enterprise, especially in building up their town. Mr. Curry at once entered vigorously into business, estab- lishing a lumber yard where the Snow Flake Mills now stand, remaining there but one year, however, on account of a freshet submerging his lumer, though not causing any financial damage. He then purchased of E. Quinby, Jr., the several lots of higher ground now ocupied by his stores, shops and lumber yard, on teh corenr of East Liberty Street and Beall Avenue. He first put up the old shop, now moved to the rear to give place to the main building he erected in 1857. In 1854 he ]placed in use the first planing mill brought into Wayne County, and at different times introduced other new labor- saving machines never operated before, and in some instances, not heard of in Wooster, until his shops were filled with all kinds of machinery required in the skillful manufacture of doors, sash, blinds, mouldings, brackets, etc., for all kinds of buildings.
As time went on his shops and yard became an extensive establishment, his custom extending not only throughout Wayne, but into the neighboring counties, until, from doing a business of disposing of 100,000 feet of lumber, as in 1854, trade increased to 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 feet per year in later times. He was the first large dealer in pine lumber in Wooster, where it was comparatively little used before he established his shops and imported building material, first from Cleveland, and then wholesale from the pineries of Michigan and walnut woods of Indiana. The average price of pine lumber since Mr. Curry has been in Wooster would be from $25 to $30 per thousand feet, though in the war times the best lumber was as high as $65. When he started the yard, in 1853, lumber rated at from $10 to $25 per thousand.
His sons, who grew up in the business, became valuable assistants to him. As they came to manhood's years he gave each an interest, until "The Currys" became noted as the "lumber family." In the fall of 1867 Mr. Curry and his three oldest sons, John, David and Wel., purchased the Stibbs & Co. yard and planing mill, on North Street, and very successfully carried on business there under the firm name of James Curry & Sons, but in 1874 this co- partnership was dissolved, the sons retaining the new yard on North Street under the style of D.C. Curry & Co., which they still retain, while James Curry resumed sole charge of the old shops on East Liberty Street. In the meantime he had erected a fine three story brick block adjoining the shops, and in connection with lumber and house building, established a furniture manufactory, which he still continues to carry on there to a very large extent in all branches, including undertaking.
The lumber and building business he has, in great measure, given up and transferred to other management, he having in May, 1877, taken into active partnership his fourth son, James Willard Curry, and Robert Cameron, the firm doing bus- iness under name of Curry, Cameron & Co. They do a large trade as builders and manufacturers, putting up buildings of all kinds by contract, from the foundation, besides selling great quantieis of material to other con- tractors and builders. The junior members are enterprising young men. J.M. Curry was born in Holmes County, Ohio, August 27, 1849, and is trained to the lumber business by long exper- ience under his father; while Mr. Cameron is a fine architect and skilled workman in house-building. He was born March 5, 1842, in Scotland, within two miles of the city of Glasgow, learning his trade there, and in 1867 came direct from Scotland to Wooster, where he has since lived, and won the esteem of the community.
From History of Wayne County, Ohio, From the Days of the Pioneers and First Settlers to the Present Time, by Robert Douglass, 1878