Our sawmill was designed and built by Jack Helsell in the mid 1970’s on his and his wife Jan Helsell’s property located near West Sound on Orcas Island.  Jack (1921-2018), a mechanical engineer who graduated from Dartmouth and the Thayer School of Engineering in 1949, served in the US Army in Europe during World War II and in Japan during the Occupation. Afterward, he worked for 18 years at Pacific Car & Foundry (PACCAR). A talented builder with prodigious energy, he and Jan constructed numerous buildings on the property, including two residences with Swedish dovetailed logs and sod roofs, a barn, a shop, a greenhouse, and a maintenance shed.

Jack designed the rail and carriage system to use timber from the property for its buildings, and the first lumber was milled there in 1975. Over time, word spread that the mill could cut beams and custom-sized lumber not typically available. Today, West Sound Lumber Company’s beams and full-inch lumber can be found in residences and buildings on Orcas Island and throughout the Puget Sound area.

Now, 50 years on, West Sound Lumber is operated by Jack’s and Jan’s family. 

Jack and Jan Helsell circa 1975