Colonel Clay recognized the natural resources in the large stands of virgin white pine and red spruce in Pocahontas County, which today involves enormous portions of the Monongahela National Forest.
An enterprising logger could purchase a stand of promising forest, erect his own mill, cut and process the logs and float them down the river.
The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company brought the first log drive down the Greenbrier River and soon erected "The Big Mill" out of the choicest timbers.
The river was sculpted with dams, spills, holding areas for the timbers, eyots to control the speed of the flow, cribs, water-pockets and sluiceways.
Springtime floods were vital in order to float down this large amount of timber, and high water meant industry rather than inconvenience to the citizens of Ronceverte.
The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company is one of the "central backdrops" to the plot of Pocahontas County author W. E. Blackhurst book, "Riders of the Flood."
Colonel Ellery Campbell Best, who is listed in the "Prominent Men of West Virginia," joined the Company in 1882 and rose to Vice President.