Bio of ROGERS, Arthur R. (b.1864), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical
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Vol III, pg 607-608
ARTHUR R. ROGERS
Arthur R. Rogers, long a conspicuous figure in lumber trade circles, has been
president of the Rogers Lumber Company of Minneapolis since its inception in
1893 and is thus active in the management and control of what is conceded to be
the largest retail lumber concern in the Northwest. He was born in Milwaukee,
Wis­consin, in 1864, a son of Alexander H. Rogers, who was also a native of that
state and an employe of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. In the
acquirement of his education Arthur R. Rogers attended a grade school of his
native city and also spent two years as a high school student there. In 1882,
when a youth of eighteen, he made his initial step in the business world as
second man in the lumberyard of the Edwards & McCulloch Lumber Company at Valley
City, North Dakota, of which C. E. Blackwell was manager. He was thus employed
for about two years and was then made manager of a lumberyard owned by the Gull
River Lumber Company at Sanborn, North Dakota, but illness compelled him to
resign his position two years later and he returned to Milwaukee. When his
health was restored, Ex-Governor John S. Pillsbury made him acquainted with C.
A. Smith, of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company, who offered him a position in the
office of that organization. About a year later he was placed in charge of its
retail yard in North Minneapolis but soon afterward was recalled to the main
office, where he served for a time as credit man and then was given charge of
the sales department. In 1888 Mr. Rogers became a student in the night school of
the State University Law Department, completing the course by graduation in
1891. The following year, at his suggestion, the Smith & Rogers Lumber Company
was organized with Mr. Rogers as secretary and treasurer, and a line of retail
lumber­yards was established along the line of the Soo Railroad in North Dakota.
In 1893, on the incorporation of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company, Mr. Rogers
became secretary and treasurer, while in 1901 he was elected vice president
thereof.
It was in 1904 that Mr. Rogers became president of the newly organized Rogers
Lumber Company and in the following year he sold his interest in the C. A. Smith
Lumber Company to his associate, C. A. Smith, and purchased Mr. Smith's interest
in the Smith & Rogers Lumber Company. In 1906 Mr. Rogers severed his connection
with the C. A. Smith Lumber Company and has since devoted his efforts and
attention to the upbuilding of the business of the Rogers Lumber Company as its
president, his associate officers being George H. Rogers, vice president, and
John J. Rogers, secretary and treasurer. The growth of the Rogers Lumber Company
and subsidiary concerns has been rapid and substantial, and it is now the most
extensive retail lumber enterprise in the Northwest, maintaining retail
lumberyards in North Dakota, Canada and Mon­tana. In addition to his impdrtant
interests as head of this corporation, Mr. Rogers is likewise the chief
executive officer of the Bend Timber Company, which holds large timber interests
in the Deschutes valley of Oregon; the Rogers-Youmans Lumber Company; and the
Okanagan Saw Mills, Limited, a sawmill concern manufacturing lumber in British
Columbia. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans
readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to
business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of
prosperity which is today his.
On the 8th of February, 1894, Mr. Rogers was united in marriage to Miss Dora
Waite and they became parents of three children: Arthur Alan, Dorothy and Donald
Waite. On the 1st of July, 1923, the husband and children were called upon to
mourn the death of the wife and mother, whose demise brought a feeling of deep
regret as well to her extensive circle of friends. During the period of the
World war she served as chairman of the war relief committee of the Women's
Club.
Mr. Rogers gave unsparingly of his time and money to war work. He organized the
northern district of the American Red Cross, comprising the states of Minnesota,
North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, and was its first officer. He was
drafted by the treasury department as treasurer of all the Liberty Loan and War
Savings activities in the Ninth Federal Reserve District and was invited to go
to France in charge of Red Cross work in that country under Commissioner Harvey
Gibson.
Mr. Rogers' standing as a citizen is indicated in the fact that he was elected
the first president of the Minneapolis Civic & Commerce Association, which
showed phenomenal growth in numbers and influence during the year of his
leadership. The North Dakota Better Farming Association, one of the most potent
factors in the improvement of farming methods in the Northwest, was established
through his efforts. This organization, which has grown rapidly in importance
and influence, is the pioneer of its kind and has done splendid work for the
betterment of farming conditions not only in North Dakota but throughout all the
northwestern states and even in Canada. That Mr. Rogers is also appreciative of
the social amenities of life is evidenced in his connection with the Minneapolis
Club, of which he has been president, and with the Minikahda, Lafayette and
University clubs. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has
been accorded due recognition of labor, and today he is num­bered among the
substantial residents of his adopted city. His interests are thoroughly
identified with those of Minneapolis and at all times he is ready to lend his
aid and cooperation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the
country or advance its wonderful development.