The How-To Building Center has been part of Farmers Coop Society since the early 1920s and was known as the Farmers Coop Lumber. At that time, the lumberyard offered dimensional lumber, sheathing, shingles, cement, fencing, a hardware line, fasteners, and paint products. Farmers Coop Society acquired another privately owned lumber yard and operated from their downtown location through the '30s and '40s. The business was moved to a location adjacent to the Burlington Northern railroad tracks along the west edge of the downtown district along 3rd Street NW. The lumberyard shared this location for many years with the Coop’s business office and scale