According to Mr. Holt, the American Lumber Company was “a corporation owned by my brother George and myself, which was started to make a wholesale business at our Chicago office and was managed by my brother until it was finally wound up. At one time this Company had a planing mill in Duluth, also had several small operations in the south, and on the whole lost considerable money.”

The Sever Anderson Logging Company was formed by Mr. Holt, W. L. DeWitt, Sever Anderson, and Elmer Bergland “to handle a tract of timber near Tipler, Wisconsin. After some time,” wrote Mr. Holt, “we bought out Anderson and Bergland, and then Holt Lumber Company bought the Company and operated it until all of the timber had been disposed of, so that this Company was a subsidiary of Holt Lumber company.” (W.A. Holt to the Society, July 13, 1949)

About 1902 the Holts established the Oconto Electric Company, using waste from the mill to develop power for their plant, and for the public. The business of selling light to the Oconto community was later sold to the Wisconsin Public Service Company, but the Holts retained control of the power station, and sold electricity to the service company.