This is a compelling nineteenth century story of William Wilson who, starting from scratch, built a lumber empire, "The Knapp, Stout & Co. Company" which, by all accounts, rivaled the biggest and best that existed anywhere in the world at that time. Headquartered in Wisconsin's Red Cedar Valley, it logged two entire counties and parts of several other counties, and had offices in a number of Midwestern states. Ultimately, the company did not survive. There are a number of factors that may have contributed to this devolution and these are each analyzed.