History

History of Brookside

Founded by P.S. Edwards and operating since 1926, our main office and lumber yard are located in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.  P.S. Edwards’ sons, Pete and Frank, returned home after serving in World War II and joined the company in the 1940’s. The third generation joined Brookside Lumber in the 1970’s and continues to be involved with the operation of the company.

The Brookside name was chosen because of a new residential area close by that was named “Brookside Farms”. With a railroad siding on the property, lumber was delivered by rail car and sold to builders in the local area. A small showroom of 200 square feet was set up in a sales office that was built in the 1930’s. The front of the present showroom was constructed in 1967 with a drive-through loading area in the back.  Today Brookside Lumber covers over seven acres with over 100,000 square feet of product under roof.

In 1998 the company merged with H.P. Starr Lumber Company, another family owned independent lumberyard located in the Butler county. Since 1998, the two companies have continued to grow with the surrounding communities.

History of HP Starr

The Glade Mills location started out in the 1880’s as a feed and grist mill through which ran the Glade Run creek – hence the name “Glade Mills”. The property at the Glade Mills location was owned by Paul Starr Sr. and used for the family farm. In 1946, Paul Starr Sr., while still farming, started to diversify the family business by purchasing trucks to haul coal, stone, gravel and sand for the building materials industry. At the same time, Paul Starr Jr. returned home from World War II and entered into college at Penn State. In 1951, Paul Starr Jr. finished college and returned home to help Paul Starr Sr. focus more on the building materials business.  By 1960 H.P. Starr & Sons became incorporated and now carried a full line of paint, fertilizer, coal, road materials, septic tanks, lumber and building supplies.  As the company grew, so did the products and services.  The company began to sell case tractors, carried complete plans and blueprints for new homes, and eventually bought several delivery vehicles including a block truck, a tractor trailer, flat beds and dump trucks.

In 1981 the current showroom was constructed at the Glade Mills location.  The old showroom, which was once the barn that housed Paul Starr Sr.’s dairy farm, was made into a warehouse.  After Paul Starr Sr.’s passing in 1978, his home was converted into office space for the company.  Shortly after in 1984, the Evans City location was opened.  This location had a railroad siding for conveniently receiving lumber and other building materials.  By this time the product selection of H.P. Starr & Sons had grown even larger to offer a variety of materials for residential and commercial building and remodeling.

By the 1990’s H.P. Starr & Sons had around 80 full-time employees. In 1998 the company merged with Brookside Lumber Company, another family owned independent lumber yard located in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.  The name changed to H.P. Starr Lumber Company, but most of the day-to-day operations remained the same. Since 1998, the company has continued to grow with the surrounding communities.

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