The life history of him whose name heads this sketch is closely identified with the history of Montpelier, Ohio. His life has been one of untiring activity and has been crowned with a degree of success attained by those only who devote themselves indefatigably to the work before them. He is of a high type of a business man and none more than he deserves a fitting recognition among the men whose genius and abilities have achieved results that are most enviable and commendable.
C. H. Boone, proprietor of the Boone Lumber Company, at Montpelier, Ohio, was born near Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, on December 29, 1849, and is the son of Thomas and Anna (Criss) Boone. These parents were both natives of Pennsylvania, where they were reared to maturity and were married. Eventually they came to Ohio, settling near Wooster, where they engaged in farming and where they spent the remainder of their lives. They were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Boone gave his support to the republican party. They were parents of the following children : W. S., of Montpelier, Ohio; Elizabeth, the wife of E. D. Pinkerton, of Wooster, Ohio; C. H., the subject of this sketch; Ruth A., deceased; Joseph N., of Akron, Ohio; Mattie, the wife of Dr. Bucher, of Wheatfield, Indiana; Lucy, the wife of George Getts, of Massilon, Ohio.
The Boone Lumber Company was started by C. H. Boone and his brother W. S. Boone in 1886. They subsequently purchased the Jacob Good Mill. In prime years, it employed 60 people including log haulers, timber cutters and the men in the saw mill and lumber yard. Their source of timber was acquired from either buying land for resale after cleared of timber or just buying the timber content. Logs were hauled by wagons, horses and sleds in the wintertime. A fire completely destroyed the lumber yard around 1914 and it was rebuilt. A few years later, the large lumber shed and all contents were burned again. The sawmill was discontinued in the 1930’s and a retail business continued until it was sold at auction in 1974. It remained in the same family and same location in the 600 block of Mill Street all these years. [ref]Montpelier Bicentennial Committee. Montpelier, Ohio, 1845-1976. Publisher: Angola, Ind.: Steuben Printing Company. 1976.[/ref]
C. H. Boone was reared on the paternal farm near Wooster, Ohio, and secured a good practical common school education. After his marriage, which occurred in 1876, he lived on a farm in Wayne County for five or six years, and then went into business in Akron, Ohio, but in 1882 sold out there and came to Williams County. Locating at Montpelier, Mr. Boone went into the sawmill business, to which he later added the lumber yards, and he has been identified with this business continually since. For seven years he was associated with his brothers, under the name of C. H. Boone & Company, but at the end of that time he acquired sole ownership of the business and is still so conducting it. He is ably assisted in this work by his sons, and the combination has been one of peculiar efficiency. The Boone lumber yards are well stocked with all kinds of lumber and building stock and their trade covers a wide range of surrounding country.
In 1876 Mr. Boone was married to Alice Clippinger, who was born in Dalton, Ohio, and their union has been blessed by the birth of four sons, namely: R. A., who is secretary of the Boone Lumber Company; L. L., who is manager of the company; R. C, treasurer of the company, and W. S., who is connected with the Goodyear Rubber Company, at Buffalo, New York. Mrs. Boone is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Boone is a member of the Knights of Pythias, being a past chancellor of his lodge and a member of the Grand Lodge. Politically, he has been a lifelong supporter of the republican party and for fourteen consecutive years he served as a member of the Montpelier Council. While he has carried on a special line of business in such a manner as to gain a comfortable competence for himself, he has also belonged to that class of representative men of affairs who promote the public welfare while advancing individual success, and he has so ordered his life as to gain the unlimited confidence and esteem of the entire community.
Source: Bowersox, Charles A. ed. A standard history of Williams County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development , 2 vols. Publisher Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. 1920.