The mill site was once filled with the buzz of saw blades, the roar of trains and trucks moving logs in and lumber out, blasts of steam from the smoke stack, and the regular lunch whistle. For generations, the mill supplied 500 to 2,000 workers with gainful employment before shutting down in 2002. Its closure opened access to the coastline and made it possible to restore wildlife habitat along the bluffs, but Fort Bragg also lost part of its economy and much of the vitality and pride of many working people, marking a major change in the community. The site’s history includes Fort Bragg Redwood Lumber Co. beginning in 1884, Union Lumber Co. from 1892 to 1969, Boise Cascade from 1969 to 1973, and Georgia-Pacific Lumber Co. from 1973 to 2002.