When you walk into a hotel in Chicago or Tokyo while on vacation, what do you see? You may admire exquisite woodwork with intricate designs while walking on flooring with an interesting pattern. The woodwork you’re admiring and flooring you’re walking on could have started out as quartersawn lumber from Frank Miller Lumber Co. in Union City, Ind.

“We’re proud of our global connections and reputation today,” explains Josh Brennan, vice president of sales. “About 80% of our lumber stays domestically, and about 20% is exported to China, Japan and other countries.”

Niche market

The company’s reputation and export connections took off in the 1980s when Japanese buyers discovered the quality and designs of quartersawn lumber. Within the industry, logs can either be plain sawn or quartersawn. The white oak and red oak logs processed by Frank Miller Lumber are quartersawn. The sawmill produces about 90,000 board-feet of quartersawn hardwoods daily.

Quartersawn involves sawing the log in half and then into quarters, which produces wood that brings out intricate patterns — especially in white oak and red oak, Brennan explains. Medullary rays that extend from the center of the tree outward like spokes in a wheel are internal highways that carry nutrients to the outer reaches of the tree.

“These are especially prominent in white and red oak, and stand out in wood crafted from these species,” Brennan says.

Local roots

While operating globally today, Frank Miller Lumber is still a local company, rooted in Union City in Randolph County, emphasizes Steven James, president of the company. It traces back to 1903, when John Miller bought a small sawmill. In 2023, the company is still family-owned, and descendants have direct daily input.

In the 1920s, steam power drove the company’s saws, turning out lumber for school buses at 5,000 board feet per day. During World War II, lumber from the mill found its way to the Brooklyn Naval Yard. By the 1960s, the company’s quartersawn lumber was used for everything from pianos to rowboat oars. On New Year’s Day 1992, a fire destroyed the mill. It was rebuilt, reopening in 1993. The retail outlet opened in 1995. Today, Frank Miller Lumber employs about 150 people.

“This company has always been economically important to both Union City and Randolph County,” says Tom Chalfant, a local farmer heavily involved in county government. Chalfant, named an Indiana Master Farmer in 2023, always keeps a sharp eye out for ways to maintain and improve the local economic picture.

“The economic activity they generate is extremely important,” Chalfant concludes.