In 1890, Harvey M. Ward entered the forest products industry in the Au Sable Valley of the Adirondack Mountains. He worked with portable and water powered mills to custom saw the logs brought in from the wood lots of farmers and landowners in the region. These logs were processed into the lumber they needed for building. His sons Amos, Ralph, Harry, Sidney and Harvey later ran the business as "Ward Brothers." One of the sawmills they operated stood but a few feet from where Ward Lumber's component plant is now located.