Our Roots.

Barky Beaver traces its roots back to a sawmill
nestled in the hills of Tennessee.  Doug Smith, our
founder, developed an appreciation for wood products
from his father, Lemuel, who operated a sawmill to
supplement income from the family farm.

 

"Dad put the sawmill in during the 1940s," recalled
Doug, who grew up not too far away from Barky
Beaver's current headquarters in Clay County. "It
wasn't much, but just enough to keep some money
coming in during the off -season. By the time I was
11, I found myself in the mill, working with dad and the
few people we had on-hand to mill the lumber."

 

By the time Doug graduated from college (earning a
degree in engineering from nearby Tennessee Technological University), his father had stopped operating the mill. After a few years putting his engineering degree to work in the professional world, Doug decided to return home to start up the sawmill again.

 

"Something about working with the wood just appealed to me. It was like I was being called to discover how I could combine that appreciation with what I learned in school," said Doug. 

 

It was 1970 when Doug and wife Janie started milling wood again, except it wasn't on the Smith farm anymore. He relocated to the small town of Moss, where it still sits today.

 

Green Forest Wood Products started with only a handful of employees, focusing on supplying milled products for area businesses. In 1984 Doug founded Barky Beaver because he determined that there was a need for mulch products and looked at it as a way to diversify the company.

 

Prior to 1984, bark from the sawmills was viewed as a waste product to be disposed of.  Doug began grinding the bark into a mulch product and marketing it to local lanscape contractors.  From this basic beginning our mulch company has grown to process the bark from several sawmills in Tennessee and Kentucky.

 

In 1988, the decision was made to begin bagging mulch for in order to enter a larger market. Doug expanded and we moved into our current complex where we can store over 80,000 cubic yards of bulk mulk and over 132,000 bags.

 

In 1989, Doug added a soil mix line to our manufacturing operation, and we now market more than 12 different soil products to landscapers, greenhouses and retailers.

 

After the passing of our founder in 2011, operations were taken over by Doug's daughter April and her husband Nick. The company continues to grow and now distributes mulch and soil products all over the southeast.