Founded in 1901 by William M. Ritter, the W. M. Ritter Lumber Company grew quickly and became one of the largest lumber companies in West Virginia. It expanded into several states, and Ritter divided the company into four parts to manage its operations. The company moved its headquarters several times, eventually to Roanoke, Virginia. Seeing the forests depleting, Ritter expanded into coal and bought the Red Jacket Coal Company in 1923. The company was sold to Georgia-Pacific in 1960 after selling over three billion board feet of lumber.