The Sparrow-Kroll Lumber Company was established by Edward Wheeler Sparrow and William Kroll in 1895. Sparrow, a wealthy investor and bank president who resided in Lansing and New York, had turned his attention to the pine forests of southern Houghton County in 1891. With Sparrow's funds and under his direction, Kroll--a homesteader in the area--spent four years evaluating and acquiring substantial timber lands near Kenton on which to build his partner's newest enterprise. After the incorporation of the company, Sparrow assumed the position of president, ruling his empire from a distance; Kroll took on the responsibilities of manager, supplying practical expertise in lumbering and operation of the company sawmill, constructed on the East Branch Ontonagon River in 1895.

The Sparrow-Kroll Lumber Company loomed large in the tiny town of Kenton. Settlers turned to a company-owned general store for their provisions, for it was the only such facility in town. Kroll served as postmaster and a member of the Duncan Township board. Various other family members filled additional management positions at the mill and store.

In 1909, the Sparrow-Kroll Lumber Company shuttered its mill in Kenton. Kroll left Houghton County in 1910 to pursue a new investment for Sparrow in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington.

Edward W. Sparrow died in 1913, and William Kroll passed away in 1928.