The Judith Ann Mogan Foundation was organized as a Private Foundation in 2020. While it is a new non-profit organization, its roots in the Southern Oregon Coast goes back a long way.

It all started as early as the 1930s when Al Peirce owned a business that supplied piling materials for the construction of the McCollough Bridge on Highway 101 as you enter North Bend, OR. A few decades later, what started as a piling business expanded into a fully integrated timber company and the business was renamed to Al Peirce Lumber Company. The Company owned thousands of acres of timberlands which supplied raw materials to its mills. The logs from the timberlands were transported by the company’s own trucking business to the mills where they were then converted to lumber. At the height of Al Peirce Lumber Co.’s business, the company owned its own ship that carried lumber all the way to the company’s distribution center in Long Beach, CA. Several mills that were owned by the company dotted the frontage of the bay along Highway 101. As a vertically integrated company, Al Peirce Lumber Company was a major employer in the community.

In the 1980s when the timber industry took a downturn, Al Peirce Lumber Co. was forced to divest of its lumber mills, trucking and shipping business. It retained its timberlands which was managed as Al Peirce Co, a business partnership between Hilda Peirce and Al and Hilda Peirce’s daughter, Judith Ann Mogan. Although the new company was no longer a major business in the community at that time, Al Peirce Co. through its partners became very active contributors to the community. Hilda Peirce and Judith Ann Mogan were strong supporters of programs and activities related to youth development and education. The local Boys and Girls Club has been a consistent recipient of their generosity year after year. A scholarship foundation was also created in the name of Al & Hilda Peirce Charitable Fund which provides scholarship to two (2) Marshfield High School and two (2) North Bend High School graduates who pursue undergraduate studies related to forestry, education and business.

Hilda Peirce passed away in October 2001. Judith Ann Mogan and Mogan Investments, LLC became the new members of the Al Peirce Co. New executive management was hired, and the company was reorganized. An aggressive new strategy was undertaken, the goal being to make the new Al Peirce Co., LLC timberlands a larger, more sustainable asset. New forestry and accounting staff were hired. Several sizeable and strategic acquisitions were made, and, in general, a much more aggressive forest management protocol was accomplished.

The newly converted company expanded its timber holdings by purchasing timberlands in Coos and Curry. The LLC continued the tradition of helping the community through major contributions to build the Coos History Museum & Maritime Collection and the Science and Technology building at the Southern Oregon Coast Community College. It also continued its support of the Boys and Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon, local 4H and FFA, the SMART Reading Program, and other local initiatives.

In November 2020, Al Peirce Co., LLC in response to the changing conditions and regulations in the timber industry made the decision to sell its timberlands to Lone Rock Timber of Roseburg, OR. Significant portion of the sales proceeds, through the generosity of Judith Ann Mogan and company management’s recommendation, was contributed to create a private foundation. The new foundation, called the Judith Ann Mogan Foundation, was organized and will perpetuate the legacy that was started by Al and Hilda Peirce which has significantly benefited the community.