Ronald King started Lumber King in the mid-forties in Pine Knot. In 1959, it was incorporated in Kentucky as King Lumber Company, Inc. under the co-ownership of Ronald King and Stearns Coal & Lumber Company. In 1969, the company entered the Oneida, Tennessee market through the formation of a separate corporation - King Building Materials, Inc. Following Ronald King’s death in 1978, the two corporations merged and the name changed to Lumber King, Inc. In 1981, Railum, Inc. bought out Stearns Coal & Lumber Company. Railum, Inc. was owned by the King Trust, Bill Singleton and another investor. In 1992, ownership of the company was again restructured with the formation of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Employees now own over 50% of the company. Employee efforts have contributed to the company's success and continue to make Lumber King an outstanding company as it was 50 years ago.