About Us

At Marcus Lumber, we don’t just sell building materials—we help you make the right decisions for your home or project. Our team stays up to date with manufacturer training, product innovation, and design trends so you don’t have to become the expert—we already are. In addition to our education and training, we pride ourselves on using some of the latest technology in the industry to help you visualize your project in the most realistic way possible.

Now in its third and fourth generations, Marcus Lumber was founded on February 1, 1920, when Roger T. Leavitt and his family purchased the Thomas Patton Lumber Company in Marcus. Renaming the business to Marcus Lumber Company, Roger T. ran the yard up until 1952. It was in 1950 his son John began working at the business with his brother Roger E. joining him in 1952. It was during this time, Marcus Lumber dropped selling coal, which was a large part of the business in years past, and established a full-service plumbing and heating division within the company as other sources of heating became popular.

In 1971, John’s son Bob joined the company, expanding the pole barn business exponentially. In 1980 John’s youngest son Jim began his career at Marcus Lumber after obtaining a construction engineering degree from Iowa State University. Roger E.’s only son Tom joined the family business in 1987, taking over many of the business side functions and completing the third generation of Leavitt family management.

In 2004, in the midst of an office expansion, the company’s primary lumber shed, shop building and almost all the delivery vehicles were destroyed by a devastating fire. However, the company was able to turn the misfortune around and build a brand new 18,000 square foot office with an expansive showroom, where the previously fire-destroyed buildings were located.

Shortly thereafter the fourth generation of the Leavitt family began working in the company with Bob’s oldest son, Clay coming on board after working in construction in the Des Moines area. Bob’s youngest son, Grant joined the company a few years later after working in the wholesale industry. Jim’s oldest son Kent also began working in the business during this same time supporting the customer’s in-store experience.

In 2017, Marcus Lumber expanded its store with a 7,500 sq. ft. showroom addition creating space for dozens of kitchen and bath displays, 70 display doors, over 30 window displays and much more. A year later, Tom Leavitt’s son, Hunter, also joined the company. The year following, Marcus Lumber started its full-service electrical division serving the local trade area.

After over 100 years of operation, Marcus Lumber embarked on a opening a second location in Storm Lake in 2022. After years of building a supportive customer base in the area, the store was supported well from the start as the only other lumber yard in town closed it’s doors the year earlier.

In 2025, Marcus Lumber continued to expand, opening up a third, satellite location in Sioux City. This smaller sales office and showroom location offers ease of doing business for the growing number of MLC customers in this area.

Today, the Marcus Lumber family now has close to 60 team members with 15 delivery vehicles and over 100,000 square feet of yard storage. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and excited for what’s ahead.