Records of the collection primarily reflect the business activities of members of the Atwood family, and of them mostly J.B. Atwood and Island Mill Lumber. These predominantly come in the form of correspondence written to Atwood and the mill and reflect transactions, negotiations, and other matters. Little correspondence comes from Atwood. Correspondence that is personal shows relations between family members and that they were often lending money between one another. The correspondence and other records stretch from 1867 to 1911, but the bulk of it is from between 1869 to 1876, which may have been a very active time for J.B. Atwood and Island Mill Lumber.

An unrelated document is a small booklet printed by General Motors in 1911 about its operations.

Unrelated to the other contents is a yellow legal pad with previous processing notes written on its pages. These notes offer details on specific letters. It has been retained because of its potential value to researchers and staff alike.