John Pickett Council was born in Council, NC Bladen County His ancestors were some of the first English settlers in Bladen County. James Council, represented Bladen County in the provincial congress in Halifax in 1776.
Council showed an interest in all things mechanical from an early age. He translated that interest into the Council Tool Company in 1884 after trying his hand at several other enterprises and studying the turpentine industry in Georgia.
The company steadily grew, moving from a small blacksmith shop near his home to Lake Waccamaw, NC (Columbus County) in 1902, where a local railroad line established a stop specifically to transport his goods.
Council tirelessly worked to improve his product, trying out a variety of materials, but continued to focus on tools specific to the turpentine industry. His company also stood out for its focus on only employing local people and making them profit participants in the business.
By 1910, Council Tool controlled 90 percent of the trade in turpentine-specific tools. Today, Council Tool is still a family owned and managed business, led by the fourth and fifth generation of the Council family. The company’s majority stockholders are in the office and on the plant floor every day.
In the spirit of founder, John Pickett Council, they make sure that his four simple beliefs are still followed, so that you always get the highest quality, the most innovative designs and the best value from Council Professional Tools.
A large landowner and farmer, Council developed Sunset Park in Wilmington, NC (New Hanover County).
He was also an avid hunter and fisherman and founded the North Carolina Game Club, an organization that is still functioning. He was active in the game conservation movement, particularly in the passage of the doe law.
His desire to retain hunting rights on land that he sold led him in 1922 to take the question to the North Carolina Supreme Court, where his right to do so was upheld in Council v. Sanderlin (N.C. Reports 183).
In 2008, an ax made by Council Tools was featured on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels episode about the history of the ax.