William McClellan Ritter (February 19, 1864 – May 21, 1952) was an American lumberman and businessman.

[1] Ritter learned the lumber business on his family's farm in Pennsylvania.

[3] Ritter began a logging operation in Mercer County, West Virginia in 1890.

[1] In 1907, W. M. Ritter Lumber Company was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of peonage.

[6][7] In 1924, Ritter received national coverage for gifting US$3,000,000 (equivalent to $53,335,922 in 2023) worth of personal stock to 124 of his employees.

[1][10] Ritter died on May 21, 1952, at his home in Washington, D.C.[1][6] He was buried in the family cemetery in Hughesville, Pennsylvania.

[1] Ritter was named to the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame posthumously in 2020.