William D. (Billy) Harrigan, Jr., built Scotch Lumber Company into the third-largest employer in Clarke County and one of Alabama’s leading lumber producers.
The Fulton, Alabama native graduated from Barton Academy in Mobile and earned an LL.B. degree from Georgetown University Law School. He joined the company in 1931, a year after the mill had been destroyed by fire. He oversaw the rebuilding of the mill and under his leadership, Scotch pioneered several types of state-of-the-art logging equipment that improved the productivity of the operation. He made sure the company followed modern timber management and wildlife preservation practices and instituted myriad employee relations programs. He helped establish the Alabama Forestry Association, served as a director of the Southern Pine Association, and was a director of the National Forest Products Association. At one point, he held a controlling interest in the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. He often helped patients who could not afford medical care and sponsored college education for several people who otherwise could not have afforded them. The Alabama Legislature on August 16, 1976, approved a memorial resolution mourning his death and citing him as an outstanding leader in his company and community.
