The Pacific Lumber Company built its first sawmill at its current location in 1887, employing 150 men to turn giant redwoods into shingles and other products. The town, originally named Forestville, was renamed Scotia in 1888 and became one of the last company-owned towns, where with a population of 1200 almost everyone works for the company. Scotia later had two sawmills, including Mill B, built in 1910 as the world's largest redwood lumber manufacturing facility. In Humboldt County, the Pacific Lumber Company became the largest private employer, providing jobs for nearly 1600 people while emphasizing preservation of a heritage, high-quality redwood and douglas fir lumber products, and continuation of that tradition into the future.