In 1935, L.M. 'Bud' Hampton began operating a lumberyard in Tacoma, Washington. Soon, World War II had created a tight lumber market and raw material was increasingly hard to find. This shortage led Bud to purchase a mill and 11,000 acres near Willamina, Oregon in 1942, to supply product to his retail yard in Tacoma. This became Hampton Affiliates' original manufacturing and timberland base.

Bud had two sons and two daughters: the sons followed him into the business. Charles Hampton worked in the company's sawmill operations and moved to Canada to oversee sawmill operations there. He also served on the Hampton Board of Directors for many years.

In 1950, Bud Hampton encouraged his son, John Hampton, to form a sales company to buy and sell lumber from outside mills. Originally comprised of just John and an assistant, Hampton Lumber Sales has grown to become one of the largest forest products wholesalers in the U.S.

John Hampton's two sons, David and Jamey Hampton, work for the company as well, representing the third generation of this family-owned business.

Hampton Affiliates currently owns and manages approximately 100,000 acres (over 40,500 hectares) of timberland in Oregon and Washington. In addition, Hampton manages approximately 120,000 hectares (296,526 acres) of publicly owned forest land in British Columbia. These lands provide a portion of the raw material processed at Hampton's mills.

From the one sawmill originally purchased at Willamina, the company has acquired additional sawmills in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia with annual production capacity at Hampton now reaching 1.9 billion board feet. Range of products includes studs through long-length lumber in Douglas fir, hemlock and SPF. Significant investments in new technology and creative innovative employees have allowed our sawmills to succeed in an extremely competitive marketplace.

Hampton will continue to look for growth opportunities in the future through timberland acquisitions, expanded manufacturing and sales opportunities.