In 1914, when Bend was a small lumber town, a series of mergers and consolidations among the fledgling insurance companies in town helped create Lumbermens Insurance and Risk Solutions.

It has been in business ever since.

“Obviously, we’re still doing what our founders wanted, which is to protect our clients as best we know how,” said Kathy Wuest, the vice president of marketing at Lumbermens and one of the firm’s partners.

The company celebrated its centennial in December, making it one of the oldest continuously operating companies in Bend, though the exact origins of the company are less clear.

Vanessa Ivey, manager of the Des Chutes Historical Museum, said that Bend Insurance Co., the first insurance company in Bend and one that would eventually become part of Lumbermens, was founded in 1912.

Though the main portion of the company was established in 1914 by Ward Coble, Ivey said that Lumbermens did not officially take its name until 1929, when it was purchased by Lumbermens National Bank.

The bank owned the insurance company for a short time, however, as Lumbermens Insurance was sold to a man named Frank Prince in 1933, Ivey said.

Prince maintained the Lumbermens name, and the current independent company was born.

“In those early years, the insurance issues they dealt with seemed complex,” Wuest said. “But with technology improving, insurance has gotten far more complex.”

Since that time, Wuest said that the company has persevered largely on the back of its relationships within the community, many of which span decades. The company provides a wide variety of insurance, ranging from home and car insurance for private individuals, to employee benefits for companies.

Lumbermens’ relationship with the local branch of the Boston-based insurance company Liberty Mutual in Bend is pushing six decades, and its involvement in the larger community goes back nearly as far, according to Wuest.

“Our commitment to Bend extends through the entire family at Lumbermens,” Wuest said.

Additionally, Wuest said that the company sets itself apart by balancing its history with an ability to stay current and adjust to changes in the insurance marketplace.

“You just evolve, and you have to find new ways to solve problems,” Wuest said. “We pride ourselves on finding complex solutions to problems.”

The company’s headquarters has evolved as well. When Coble’s insurance company was purchased by Lumbermens Bank in 1929, the company was located on Wall Street when it was still a dirt road. Since then, however, the company has been located in a variety of offices, most recently relocating to Franklin Crossing in June, blocks from the company’s original location.

Despite those changes, Wuest said that the name was an integral part of the company, one that reminds employees where they came from.

“Even though we’ve updated our logo and our location, we’ve kept the name,” Wuest said. “It’s tied to our pride in the people who have come before us.”

—Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com