Built to Last: Committed to Quality Products and Services.  

As a female-led, fourth generation family-owned business, Leachman Lumber continues to pride itself on providing a customer-focused, quality, competitively priced solutions for contractors and builders large and small.  

The Beginning

Leachman Lumber Company was founded on August 10, 1921, by Robert C. Leachman along with his brother Berkley “Buck” and father Robert P. Leachman. (Fun fact: Berkley was the father of Cloris Leachman. Yes, that Cloris Leachman.) The original building was more or less a small shed located at 1933 Hubbell Ave. and was leased from F.M. Hubbell. Robert’s vision was clear and his success imminent. His goal was to become the premier supplier for the area contractors and homebuilders. It should be noted that the company survived the Great Depression with the hard work of the two brothers and an occasional forgiveness of rent by Mr. Hubbell.

The second generation of the Leachman family entered the business in 1953, when Mark C. Leachman joined the company calling on homebuilders and general contractors. In 1957, his brother, John D. Leachman started with the company in sales and marketing. 

Commitment to Growth

The company’s East Des Moines location became permanent in 1967when Leachman Lumber purchased all of its leased property from Hubbell Realty, plus some adjacent properties, nearly doubling the size of the lumberyard. In 1978 the company remodeled and opened a new store facility and a 12,000-foot warehouse at the Hubbell location . . . just in time for the recession of 1980. 

In 1979, the third generation began to make its mark on the business. Mark C. Leachman Jr. came on board and learned the business from the ground up working in the yard, then working in the store and helping with dispatching duties, to ultimately stepping into the role of buyer, following his fathers’ retirement. After navigating the recession in the mid-1980s, the company acquired three more adjacent properties in 1989, and by the next year had added a 7500-foot warehouse and expanded employee parking. It was also at this time that John D. (Jack) Leachman Jr. joined the sales staff. Jack continues to work in new business development, especially with general contractors. 

In 1995 James Kahler joined Leachman Lumber Company as general manager, bringing 20 years of hardwood lumber sales and management experience with him. He retired in 2019. Since 1995, 10 additional residential properties surrounding Leachman Lumber have been acquired which allowed for the addition of a 12,000-foot warehouse, a doubling of open storage space, improved logistics and expanded employee parking, all completed in 2005.

Today

In 2002, Jennifer Leachman joined Mark (her cousin) and Jack (her brother) to complete the third-generation team. She was hired as chief financial officer and currently serves as president and CFO. As she, Mark and Jack lead the company into the next 100 years, they work to continually developing their customer base while focusing on providing quality products at competitive prices. 

And, just in time to celebrate 100 years, Austin Leachman, the fourth generation, has begun to carve out his role in the company.

With a strong family commitment, the future looks good indeed.