Albert Kuhn

Albert Henry Kuhn (February 12, 1860 – January 5, 1934) was a Washington State pioneer and businessman. During his early career, Kuhn tried a variety of jobs, moving from state to state until he settled in Washington in 1884 and entered the logging business, where he remained for the rest of his career. He began as a logging foreman, but gained recognition in business circles over time. Eighteen years later, he was one of the founders of a new logging venture: Hoquiam Lumber and Shingle Company. In 1917, he became the manager and biggest shareholder of the Hoquiam shingle mill.

In Kuhn's first jobs, he was a teacher in Dale, Wisconsin and a telegraph operator for the Western Union in Chicago. Later, he became an experienced railroad employee, working for the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad (which was later called the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad and then the Great Northern Railway) in Minnesota, and for the Northern Pacific Railway in Medora, North Dakota. He worked in Medora at the time of its development by Marquis de Morès, and served as a chief witness in the Marquis trial for the cattle man murder of 1883.

Eventually, Kuhn settled in Hoquiam, Washington and proceeded to work for the Northwestern Lumber Company for eighteen years. As he became known as a business specialist, he was appointed a log scaler for Thurston and Lewis Counties and Lumber Inspector for District No. 5. From 1902 to 1912, he worked for the Hoquiam Lumber and Shingle Company. He designed, and built and was one of the proprietors of the company's shingle mill, which was esteemed as the "finest" by the experts at the time. Later, as company superintendent, Kuhn built the lumber mill. From 1912 to 1916, Kuhn travelled the world. On his return, he re-entered the business and became the biggest shareholder in the Hoquiam Lumber & Shingle Company shingle mill.