Saw & Grist Mills of Cass County     Information from the Texas Forestry Museum

Corporate Name: 3-C Sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: 3-C Sawmill
Location: Two and a half miles northeast of Queen City, on Cypress Creek
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: North of Queen City
Historical Development: The 3-C sawmill appeared on the March 1910 edition of the United States Geological Survey map as being situated about 2.5 miles northeast of Queen City, on Cypress Creek. It was not listed in the 1907 edition of Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association.

Corporate Name: A. and H. [Illegible]
Owner/Company Affiliation: A. and H. [Illegible]
Location: Precinct 4, near Queen City, three miles north of Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 145,000 board feet during the Census reporting period
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Near Queen City
Historical Development: The owners' names are illegible on the census manuscript. This sawmill operated six months' fulltime during the Census reporting period in 1879 and 1880, employing two to five men. The owners of the mill paid from $1.25 to $1.50 per day in wages for ten-hour shifts. The workers received $200 total in wages. Logging was done close to the mill and product was shipped by railroad. From $775 worth of sawlogs and supplies, the mill produced 145,000 board feet worth a gross value of $1,400.

Corporate Name: A. C. Tenbrook Sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: A. C. Tenbrook Sawmill
Location: Route 1 at Marietta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1957 to 1966
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Rough pine lumber and hardwood crossties
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and dust mill
City/Town: Marietta
Historical Development: A. C. Tenbrook had a sawmill at Marietta in 1957 and 1966, according to Samson. The mill cut pine lumber and hardwood crossties. The Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1956-1958 referred to the operation as a "dust mill."

Corporate Name: A. D. Bradley
Owner/Company Affiliation: A. D. Bradley
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1915
Capacity Comments: 8,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Yellow pine, white oak, red oak, and gum. Specialized in ties.
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: A. D. Bradley specialized in the manufacturing of ties in 1915 at Hughes Springs.

Corporate Name: A. M. Rhyne Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: A. M. Rhyne Lumber Company. A. M. Rhyne and Bill Bolding.
Location: Avinger, on Depot Street west of the East Line & Red River tracks
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1875 to later than 1928
Capacity Comments: 25,000 feet daily in 1928
Type of Mill: Shortleaf yellow pine
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill with edgers and trimmers, and a planing mill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: A. M. Rhyne and Bill Bolding had a lumber mill operation in Avinger for almost fifty years. It was located on Depot Street west of the tracks of the East Line & Red River, later the Sherman, Southern & Shreveport, later the Missouri-Kansas-Texas. East Line & Red River built through Avinger in 1877, which places the beginning of the mill no earlier than 1875. It was listed in the Southern Lumberman's Directory of American Saw Mills and Planing Mills in 1928. A. M. Rhyne had a planing operation at Avinger, which he sold to Whitworth Bros. (See Whitworth Bros.) Rhyne and Bolding also had a lumber mill, known as the old Douglas Mill, in Marion County, at the turn of the century. W. H. Bolding's sawmill at Avinger appeared in the 1905 and 1907 editions of the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association.

Corporate Name: Albert Cope
Owner/Company Affiliation: Albert Cope
Location: Mims Chapel area near Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Mims Chapel
Historical Development: Albert Cope had a sawmill, according to Fred McKenzie, in the greater Mims Chapel area near Avinger.

Corporate Name: Anderson & Rand
Owner/Company Affiliation: A. F. Anderson and Ed Rand
Location: Precinct 1, 1880 with post office at Linden and Galloway, 1882 to 1887.
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 2,500,000 board feet during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Precinct 1, 1880 with post office at Linden and Galloway, 1882 to 1887.
Historical Development: The A. Anderson sawmill operated for twelve months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was valued at $10,750. Anderson employed fourteen to twenty men and paid them $1.25 to $4.00 for eleven-hour shifts daily. He paid out a total wage of $5,000. The sawmill produced 2,500,000 board feet valued at $20,000 from $11,000 in sawlogs and supplies. The Anderson sawmill was the most valuable mill in Cass County in 1880. It was also paid some of the best wages in the county. The American Lumberman, in a biographical piece in 1900, noted that the firm of Anderson & Rand had operated a 20,000-ft tie mill at Galloway on the Texas & Pacific from 1882 to 1887, indicating that A.Anderson and Ed Rand had joined forces to supply the tie needs of the railroads.

Corporate Name: Arnold's Sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: Arnold's Sawmill
Location: Four miles southeast of Atlanta, just south of Beach Creek
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam ?
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: Arnold's Sawmill appeared on the March 1910 edition of the United States Geological Survey map as being situated about four miles southeast of Atlanta, just south of Beach Creek. It did not appear in the 1915 edition of the Southern Lumberman's Directory of American Saw Mills and Planing Mills. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794.

Corporate Name: Atlanta Lumber Mills Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Atlanta Lumber Mills Company. E. A. Rand. T. L. L. Temple, Ab Scott, and Frank Grigsby.
Location: Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1887 to about 1907
Capacity Comments: From 30,000 to 50,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Rough and finished lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Planing mill and sawmill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794. In 1887, the Atlanta Lumber Mills company at Atlanta, Texas, was organized by T. L. L. Temple, Frank Grigsby, and Ab Scott. Temple and Scott may have combined separate mill operations into a partnership with Grigsby. Temple managed the business and employed more than one hundred men, according to the American Lumberman, before incorporating Southern Pine Lumber Company and opening the Diboll mill in Angelina County, Texas, which later expanded into the massive Temple-Inland business operations. John D. Hanes believed that Temple, Grigsby, and Scott built mills next to each other in Atlanta and later each sold out to the Grigsby Brothers. Sheets Brothers, Temple, Scott, and Queen City Lumber Company, noted Hanes, operated a joint tram operation for some years. This was the East Texas Transportation Company that Grigsby sold to Ed Rand and H. J. Allen in 1891. The W. L. Scott firm was reported in the Galveston Weekly News of April 13, 1893, to be cutting 50,000 feet daily. The name is a misprint for W. A. "Ab" Scott.In 1894, according the Beaumont Journal, E. A. Rand was president of the company, who was manager and president of the company for six years. The logging tram road operated in three states (Miller County, Arkansas; Caddo Parish, Louisiana). This company road was later developed into the Texas, Arkansas & Louisiana, connecting the Texas & Pacific at Atlanta to the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf, at Bloomberg. Atlanta Mills closed about 1907.

Corporate Name: Avinger Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Rhyne Simpson
Location: At or near Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1930s and 1940s
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: Fred McKenzie wrote that the "Rhyne Simpson's sawmill burned in the early forties, . .". Simpson operated under the name of the Avinger Lumber Company.

Corporate Name: B. Runey
Owner/Company Affiliation: B. Runey
Location: Sardis
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Sardis
Historical Development: B. Runey was listed in a railroad directory as having a sawmill at Sardis.

Corporate Name: Barnwell Brothers Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Barnwell Brothers Lumber Company
Location: Queen City, three miles north of Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1957
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Queen City
Historical Development: Barnwell Brothers Lumber Company at Pittsburg was listed in the 1957 edition of the Directory of Wood-Using and Related Industries in East Texas.

Corporate Name: Bill Pritchard
Owner/Company Affiliation: Bill Pritchard
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: Before 1900 to about 1915
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber and ginned cotton
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and cotton gin
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: According to John Hanes' unpublished manuscript, Bill Pritchard established a cotton gin in the area of Queen City about the turn of the century. A sawmill was added. A short time later, a fire destroyed the mills and killed a night watchman. The gin was rebuilt and operated until 1924.

Corporate Name: Bill Sutton
Owner/Company Affiliation: Bill Sutton
Location: Mims Chapel area near Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Mims Chapel
Historical Development: Bill Sutton had a sawmill, according to Fred McKenzie, in the greater Mims Chapel area near Avinger.

Corporate Name: Bivins, Venable & Co.
Owner/Company Affiliation: Bivins, Venable & Co.
Location: Bivins with an early post office box at Linden. Precinct 1, 1880 U.S. Census.
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1897
Capacity Comments: 2,500,000 board feet produced during the reporting period of the census of 1880. 45,000 feet daily in 1893.
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill in 1880. Later, sawmill, planing mill, and dry kilns.
City/Town: Bivins
Historical Development: This sawmill plant began with George C. Venable, who was enumerated as Venerable & Company in the census of 1880. The Venerable and Company sawmill operated for six months during the census year ending May 31, 1880 and produced two and a half million board feet at a value of $25,000. The firm employed twenty-five men who worked eleven-hour shifts for a daily wage of $1.50 to $3.00. The company paid out $5,000 total in wages. Sawlogs and and supplies cost $14,000. James K. and Frank H. Bivins, according to John D. Hanes' unpublished "Notes on the History of Queen City, Texas," built a mill at Bivins in 1884. Rather, Bivins bought into the Venable, Woodworth & Blythe action. James K. Bivins had an earlier partnership with Galloway & Rand in Cass County. In 1882, Bivins bought 500 acres in Cass County. George C. Venable some months later sold Bivins an interest in more than a million feet of lumber, a steam sawmill, and a planer. Venable may still have some interest in Woodworth, Venable & Blythe at Bivins at this time. During the next few years, the company bought land east of Wayne Station, near the Arkansas border; east of Linden; and from Clark, Boice & Woodworth. Bivins, Venable & Co. were reported to be cutting 45,000 feet daily at Bivins in 1893, but the company went into receivership in 1894 with E. A. Allday as Trustee. In 1897, Allday quitclaim the company to D. D. Dodd, the receiver for the company's creditors. Cass County records reveal the company was located east of the Texas & Pacific, on Lavinia Mornen Survey and Ingram Survey, a total of seventy-two acres. It had a company town with a commissary. Woodward and Bivins & Co jointly operated a tram road.

Corporate Name: Boleman & Nelson [Bolerman]
Owner/Company Affiliation: S. K. Boleman & J. D. Nelson [Bolerman]
Location: Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1901
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Shingle mill
City/Town: Linden
Historical Development: The American Lumberman noted in February of 1901 that the firm of Boleman & Nelson were in shingle making business at Linden.

Name: Boyle & Patrick
Owner/Company Affiliation: Boyle & Patrick
Location: Probably near Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1902
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles
Power Source: 9-inch by 7-inch steam engine
Equipment: Shingle mill
City/Town: Probably near Linden
Historical Development: R. E. Boyle and J. C. Patrick mortgaged with Torrans Manufacturing Company of Jefferson in order to secure steam equipment and a shingle mill. The operation was located on 106 3/4 acres of the Geo. F. Young Survey.

Corporate Name: Bradshaw, Stewart & Co
Owner/Company Affiliation: Bradshaw, Stewart & Co. J. M. Phillips.
Location: Unknown
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1906
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Unknown
Historical Development: Bradshaw, Stewart & Co. bought the the sawmill site of J. M. Phillips. The mill was referred to as the "Phillips Mill." It was located on three acres in Cass County in 1906.

Corporate Name: Bryan and Stewart
Owner/Company Affiliation: W. C. Bryan and W. S. Stewart
Location: Bryan's Mill
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1873 to 1884
Capacity Comments: About 500 feet daily
Type of Mill: Pine lumber and cornmeal
Power Source: Animal-powered (mule)
Equipment: Circular sawmill and grist mill
City/Town: Bryan's Mill
Historical Development: According to John D. Hanes, W. C. Bryan and W. S. Stewart opened a combined grist mill and sawmill in 1873 in an area that became known as Bryans Mill. It was located in northwestern Cass County, twenty-three miles from Atlanta. Census records reveal that Bryan and Stewart ran a lumber mill in Precinct 3, Cass County, during the census year ending May 31, 1880. They had a declared $2000 invested in the operation which employed three men, who were paid $.75 to $1.50 daily. The firm paid out a total of $280 in wages. From $775 worth of sawlogs and supplies, the sawmill produced an unknown amount of lumber worth $1,400. The mill appeared again in Rand, McNally and Company's 1884 directory of lumber mills. Rail express was delivered to Belden. The operation was small because power was generated by horses. It would have supported the local need for lumber.

Corporate Name: Capps Brothers
Owner/Company Affiliation: Capps Brothers
Location: Bloomburg
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1934
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Bloomburg
Historical Development: Capps Brothers was listed in the 1934 edition of Lumbermen's Credit Rating Book, October 1934 as sawmilling at Bloomburg. The brothers had been sawmilling earlier in the 1920s at Douglassville.

Corporate Name: Casey's Sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: Casey's Sawmill
Location: Two miles west of Bloomburg on the railroad
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: near Bloomburg
Historical Development: Casey's Sawmill appeared on the March 1910 edition of the United States Geological Survey map located about two miles west of Bloomburg, on the Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana railroad.

Corporate Name: Connor & Dukes
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. I. Connor and Tom Dukes
Location: Liberty, near Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Barnes Lake
Historical Development: Fred McKenzie noted the the Connor & Dukes lumber mill at Liberty in Cass County.

Corporate Name: D. G. Price
Owner/Company Affiliation: D. G. Price
Location: Bloomburg
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1928
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine and hardwoods
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Bloomburg
Historical Development: The circular sawmill company of D. G. Price in 1928 at Bloomburg was recorded in the Southern Lumberman as cutting yellow pine and hardwoods.

Corporate Name: D. R. Coulter Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: D. R. Coulter Lumber Company
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1920s and 1930s
Capacity Comments: 50,000 sawmill feet daily and 50,000 planing mill daily
Type of Mill: Shortleaf yellow pine, hardwood, cypress, specializing in shingles and furniture dimension stock.
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill and planing mill, with edgers, trimmers, dry kilns
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: Coulter was operating a sawmill and planing mill, with a commissary, at Avinger in 1928. He was listed also in the 1934 edition of the Lumbermen's Credit Rating Book of October 1934.

Corporate Name: Dan P. Echols
Owner/Company Affiliation: Dan P. Echols
Location: Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: At least 1905
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Shingle mill
City/Town: Linden
Historical Development: The firm of Dan P. Echols was noted in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, Chicago, January 1905 but not in the 1907 listing.

Corporate Name: David Odell
Owner/Company Affiliation: David Odell
Location: Avinger, southwestern Cass County, northwest of Marshall, Harrison County
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1905 to about 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles and lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and shingle mill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: W. H. Griffs' sawmill appeared in the 1905 and 1907 editions of the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association.

Corporate Name: Davis and Dave Tilson
Owner/Company Affiliation: Davis and Dave Tilson
Location: Cass, in northeastern part of the county
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1894 to 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Cass
Historical Development: The community of Cass was established in northeastern Cass County in 1894 when the tracks of the Kansas City Southern were laid in the area. A sawmill firm, possibly that of Davis & Davis, established a plant there about that time. In 1900, the firm of Davis and Dave Tilson bought out Davis & Davis. The sawmill ran until 1910 and closed when the timber was cut out.

Corporate Name: DePrang & Sons
Owner/Company Affiliation: DePrang & Sons
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1928
Capacity Comments: 20,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Shortleaf yellow pine
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill, edgers
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: De Prang & Sons specialized in the manufacturing of shortleaf yellow pine lumber in 1928 at Hughes Springs.

Corporate Name: E. C. Henderson
Owner/Company Affiliation: E. C. Henderson
Location: West of Mims Bridge
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: West of Mims Bridge
Historical Development: E. C. Henderson ran a big mill west of Mims Bridge before moving to Avinger to run a planing mill.

Corporate Name: E. M. Werkheiser
Owner/Company Affiliation: E. M. Werkheiser
Location: Precinct 4, near Queen City, three miles north of Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 1,000,000 board feet during the reporting period of the census
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Near Queen City
Historical Development: E.M. Werkheiser's sawmill in Cass County, according to Census records of 1880, operated for six months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. Werkheiser paid from $1.00 to $3.00 per day in wages to ten employees for eleven-hour daily shifts. The normal work crew totaled seven men. The crew received a total wage of $1,500. From $5,500 worth in sawlogs and supplies, the mill produced a million board feet of lumber worth $9,500. Werkheiser did his own logging. The mill was worth $3,000. This may be the E. Werkheiser who was sawmilling in Jefferson in 1893.

Corporate Name: Felker Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Felker Lumber Company with M. L. "Bud" Felker, Jr. H. C. Knowles.
Location: Avinger, southwestern Cass County, northwest of Marshall, Harrison County
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1947 to 1957
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Worked with hardwood, pine
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: H. C. Knowles, in 1947, sold his planing mill at Avinger to M. L. "Bud" Felker, Jr. A new sawmill operation was added to the old Knowles sawmill. Nelson T. Samson, in Directory of Wood-Using and Related Industries in East Texas, listed Felker's lumber facility at Avinger in 1957. It is not listed in the Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1960.

Corporate Name: Fill's Sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: Fill's Sawmill
Location: Five miles southeast of Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: near Atlanta
Historical Development: Fill's Sawmill appeared on the March 1910 edition of the United States Geological Survey map as being situated five miles southeast of Atlanta. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas & Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794.

Corporate Name: Frank Bivins Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Frank Bivins Lumber Company
Location: Kildare
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: As early as 1890 to early 1900s
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Pine lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Kildare
Historical Development: Frank Bivins was a brother of James K. Bivins, both sawmillers of northeast Texas. Frank Bivins company was listed as the Bivins Lumber Company in the "Report of Yellow Pine Clearing House Association, August, 1901." Cass County records reveal that he had bought some 2,500 acres in Cass County in 1890. Bivins Lumber Company was mentioned in a deed record involving the Buffalo Bayou Brazos & Colorado Railroad Company in 1901.

Corporate Name: Fred A. McKenzie Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Fred A. McKenzie Lumber Company
Location: Box 535 Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1928 to 1960
Capacity Comments: 8,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Shortleaf yellow pine, hardwood, specializing in crossties and timbers. 1956: woven pickets, snow fencing, nursery shading, and corn cribbing.
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill and planing mill, with edger and trimmer.
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: McKenzie was operating a sawmill and planing mill at Avinger in 1928. His sawmill, located at Johnson Creek, burned in 1929. The Directory of Texas Manufacturers, 1956-1958 lists Fred A. McKenzie as a sawmiller at Avinger. The firm was established as a partnership. Products included woven pickets, snow fencing, nursery shading, and corn cribbing. McKenzie supervised about ten employees. It is listed in the Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1960.

Corporate Name: Fred Edwards
Owner/Company Affiliation: Fred Edwards
Location: Bloomburg
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1934 to about 1959
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Worked with cypress and hardwoods
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Bloomburg
Historical Development: Fred Edwards was listed in the 1934 edition of Lumbermen's Credit Rating Book, October 1934 as sawmilling at Bloomburg. He may have bought out the Price sawmill. The Directory of Texas Manufacturers, 1956-1958 lists the sawmill of Fred Edwards, Jr. Established as a sole proprietorship in 1945, the company under Edwards was producing lumber with more than twenty employees in 1956. The Fred Edwards sawmill evolved into the Edwards Lumber Company at Bloomburg in 1957. The company was not listed in the Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1960.

Corporate Name: Fred Hall
Owner/Company Affiliation: Fred Hall. Possibly Hall-DeLisle
Location: At Monday's Switch, north of Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900 to 1914
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Rough lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: Fred Hall's sawmill at Avinger appeared in the 1905 and 1907 credit rating registers of the LCA. This may be the sawmill to which Fred McKenzie referred: "the Hall-DeLisle operation at Monday's Switch, one-half mile" from Turkey Creek.

Corporate Name: G. A. M. Starke
Owner/Company Affiliation: G. A. M. Starke
Location: Unknown
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: Late 1840s to early 1850s
Capacity Comments: 300,000 feet during the reporting period of the census
Type of Mill: Lumber and cornmeal
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill and grist mill
City/Town: Unknown
Historical Development: According to census records for the year ending June 1, 1850, G.A.M. Starke's steam-powered sawmill, with a capital investment of $2,500, consumed 450 cords of wood to produce 300,000 feet of lumber, valued at $4500, during the census year. It ground 1,000 bushels worth $1,000. Starke employed six men workers during that time, each earning $12 monthly.

Corporate Name: G. H. Allen
Owner/Company Affiliation: G. H. Allen
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1905 to 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: G. H. Allen had a sawmill at Hughes Springs (Hughes) in 1907.

Corporate Name: G. L. Duncan
Owner/Company Affiliation: G. L. Duncan
Location: Almira
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1905
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and general store
City/Town: Almira
Historical Development: G. L. Duncan's sawmill appeared in the January 1905 Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, but not in its 1907 rating.

Corporate Name: Geo R. Caton Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Geo R. Caton Lumber Company
Location: Avinger, southwestern Cass County, northwest of Marshall, Harrison County
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1940 to 1946
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: Geo R. Caton began his manufacturing career at Avinger in 1940, according to The Jacksonville Journal. He leased a plant at Wells, in Cherokee County, in 1946.

Corporate Name: Goodson Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Goodson Lumber Company
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: Goodson Lumber Company had a sawmill in Hughes Springs in 1907.

Corporate Name: Goodson-William Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Goodson- William Lumber Company
Location: Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Linden
Historical Development: The firm of Goodson-William Lumber Company was the only one noted at Linden in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association for 1907. Three firms had existed in 1905. The town had had its own rail station and population was listed at 444 in 1905. By the beginning of 1907, no population was listed and the rail stop was at Kildare.

Corporate Name: Goodson-William Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Goodson- William Lumber Company
Location: Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Linden
Historical Development: The firm of Goodson-William Lumber Company was the only one noted at Linden in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association for 1907. Three firms had existed in 1905. The town had had its own rail station and population was listed at 444 in 1905. By the beginning of 1907, no population was listed and the rail stop was at Kildare.

Corporate Name: Griffin & Son
Owner/Company Affiliation: Griffin & son
Location: Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1934
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: The Griffin & Son at Atlanta first appeared in the Lumbermen's Credit Rating Book of October 1934. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794.

Corporate Name: Grogan Manufacturing Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Grogan Manufacturing Company. R. W. Grogan, turn of the century.
Location: A mile and a half northwest of Bivins
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1900s
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Bivins
Historical Development: Cass County records reveal that R. W. Grogan, W. R. Grogan, and T. M. Cochran had a sawmill just across the state line in Miller County, Arkansas, in 1897. The company lumber yard was one mile into Texas on the tracks of the Kansas City Pittsburg & Co Railway Company. A company tram connected the sawmill to the lumber yard. The obituary for George L. Grogan, in The Gulf Coast Lumberman, noted that his father, R. W. Grogan established the Grogan Lumber County in Cass County in 1890 and the Grogan Manufacturing Company in 1902. The first mill was in Arkansas. A timber deed note of 1902 stated that the Grogan mill in Cass County would be erected and running that year. The Cass County operation was known by the two above names as well as "the Grogan's Sawmill" on the March 1910 edition of the United States Geological Survey map. A company tramway connected the mill with the Texas & Pacific tracks at Bivins. The sawmill was then situated about mile and a half northwest of Bivins. Grogan Manufacturing appeared in the January 1905 and 1907 editions of the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association as a manufacturer of lumber. An article of The Gulf Coast Lumberman, in 1954, reported that the timber supporting the Grogan Manufacturing Company sawmill at Bivins had been cut out by 1908. In June 1908, the Grogans leased the old Bivins Lumber Company place on Mornen survey for loading and tramming and leased (later bought) J. W. Liles property, near Bivins, to build another sawmill. The same article notes that Grogan Manufacturing Company built a larger plant near Linden, in Cass County, in 1908. The Linden plant would continue for many years.

Corporate Name: H. C. Knowles Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: H. C. Knowles Lumber Company. Henderson-Knowles Lumber Company, with H. C. Knowles and E. C. Henderson.
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1935 to 1947
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill and planing mill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: The H. C. Knowles Lumber Company began as the Henderson-Knowles Lumber Company in 1935, according to Fred McKenzie. The operation was referred to as the "Knothole." Located in a pasture once owned by an individual named Johnson, behind the old Baptist Church, the company ran as a partnership until the beginning of World War II. E. C. Henderson sold out and moved to Marshall. Knowles continued the sawmill until 1947, when he sold his planer to M. L. "Bud" Felker, Jr. Henderson dismantled the remaining portion of the sawmill and moved it to Pyland community.

Corporate Name: H. J. Avinger
Owner/Company Affiliation: H. J. Avinger
Location: Avinger, James Anders 640-acre survey and headright, north of town
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: After 1860 to at least 1884
Capacity Comments: 800,000 board feet produced in Census period of 1880
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: 20-horsepower steam engine
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Just north of Avinger
Historical Development: Dr. H. J. Avinger, one of the earlier founders of the town that bears his name, bought James Anders entire survey of 640 acres and built a small sawmill on it. The operation would continue to grow for almost three decades. Avinger built the depot for the new East Line & Red River Railroad from Jefferson, in Marion County. The sawmill operated for ten months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was valued at $2,000 and Avinger paid from $0.90 to $1.50 per day in wages to ten men. The normal workforce of six men worked ten-hour shifts and were paid a total of $1,200. Avinger did his own logging in the neighborhood. The sawmill produced 800,000 board feet valued at $8,000 from $5,000 worth of sawlogs and supplies. His mill was listed in an 1884 railroad directory.

Corporate Name: Hooper & Morse Manufacturing Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Hooper & Morse Manufacturing Company
Location: Kildare
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Kildare
Historical Development: The Hooper & Morse Manufacturing Company is listed in the 1907 Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association.

Corporate Name: Horace Blinn
Owner/Company Affiliation: Horace Blinn
Location: Precinct 1, 1880 U.S. Census Post office at Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 2,500,000 board feet during the reporting period
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: 60-horsepower steam engine
Equipment: A circular steam sawmill
City/Town: Post office at Linden
Historical Development: The Horace Blinn sawmill operated for twelve months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was valued at $10,000. Blinn normally employed fifteen men and increased it to twenty-five as needed. He paid them $1.25 to $1.75 daily for ten-hour shifts. The mill produced 2,500,000 board feet worth $25,000 from $14,000 worth of sawlogs and supplies.

Corporate Name: Hughes Springs Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Hughes Springs Lumber Company
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: Hughes Springs Lumber Company manufactured lumber in Hughes Springs in 1907.

Corporate Name: J. A. Lucas
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. A. Lucas
Location: Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1905
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Shingle mill
City/Town: Linden
Historical Development: The firm of J. A. Lucas was noted in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, Chicago, January 1905 but not in the 1907 listing.

Corporate Name: J. C. Monday
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. C. Monday
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: The J. C. Monday sawmill was listed in an 1884 railroad directory at Avinger. He had a mill, also, at Hughes Springs, in Cass County.

Corporate Name: J. C. Sheppard & Sons
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. C. Sheppard & Sons
Location: Huffins (Huffines), about three miles east of Bivins
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1905
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and general store
City/Town: Huffins
Historical Development: J. C. Sheppard & Sons ran a sawmill and general store at Huffins in 1905, according to a credit rating report. It was noted as the Huffine's sawmill in 1910, according to a United States Geological Survey map. Huffines was located about three miles east of Bivins.

Name: J. E. Sherrod
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. E. Sherrod. Headquarters, Shreveport, Louisiana.
Location: Bivins
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1928
Capacity Comments: 10,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Hardwood and yellow pine laths, shingles, timbers, furniture and vehicle dimension stock.
Power Source: Steam ?
Equipment: Circular sawmill, planing mill, edgers, trimmers, resaw
City/Town: Bivins
Historical Development: J. E. Sherrod, with headquarters at Shreveport, Louisiana, was listed in 1928 at Bivins as milling 10,000 feet daily. The company provided a commissary for the workers.

Corporate Name: J. H. and J. W. Sewell
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. H. and J. W. Sewell
Location: Precinct 7, 1880 U.S. Census, post office at Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 300,000 board feet during reporting period
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Precinct 7, post office at Linden
Historical Development: The Sewell sawmill operated for ten months at three-quarters time during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was valued at $2,000 and the Sewell's paid $1.00 per day for eleven-hour shifts to three men normally and six men at peak production and logging. The Sewells paid out a total of $600 in wages. The mill produced three hundred thousand board feet valued at $2,800 from $1,600 in sawlogs and supplies.

Corporate Name: J. H. Norwood
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. H. Norwood
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: J. H. Norwood manufactured lumber in Hughes Springs in 1907, according to the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1907.

Corporate Name: J. J. Shaddi
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. J. Shaddi
Location: Marietta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine lumber, general store
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Marietta
Historical Development: J. J. Shaddi operated a milling plant at Marietta and ran the general store. In 1905, he had been listed at Naples.

Corporate Name: J. M. Fitzgerald
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. M. Fitzgerald
Location: Hughes Springs
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs
Historical Development: The J. M. Fitzgerald sawmill at Hughes Springs was listed in an 1884 railroad directory.

Corporate Name: J. M. Hooten
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. M. Hooten. Pettingill & Hoaton. Albert Pattengal. By 1884, he had a partner named Hoaton (Hooten), and Pattengal was spelled Pettingill in an 1884 railroad directory. 1899: Hooten. Torrans Manufacturing Company. Brown Lumber Company.
Location: Pettingill Switch, two miles north of Avinger, Enumeration District 11 in 1880, two miles north of Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to about 1910
Capacity Comments: 100,000 board feet produced in the reporting period of 1879 to 1880
Type of Mill: 1880: Lumber and cornmeal. 1884: rough and dressed lumber. 1905: Rough lumber.
Power Source: 1880: 15-horsepower steam engine in 1880. 1899: 44-in Sterne boiler , 11-in by 14-in Bland steam engine
Equipment: 1880: circular sawmill and grist mill. 1884: sawmill and planing mill. 1900: rough and finished lumber.
City/Town: Pettingill Switch
Historical Development: Albert Pattengal's 15-horsepower steam sawmill in Enumeration District 11 of the census of 1880 operated for two months during that census year. It was valued at $1,500 and Pattengal paid from $0.90 to $1.50 per day in wages to four men for ten-hour shifts. He paid out a total of $200 in wages. Pattengal logged on his own lands. The sawmill produced, from $1400 worth of sawlogs and supplies, one hundred thousand board feet worth $900. The firm was listed as Pettingill and Hoaten in the Rand, McNally and Company's Directory and Shipping Guide of Lumber Mills and Lumber Dealers for 1884. J. M. Hooten, in 1899, executed a deed of trust to T. W. Allsup as Trustee in order to secure sawmilling equipment shipped in 1898 from Torrans Manufacturing Company of Jefferson, in Marion County. The record indicates that the siding was two and a half miles west of Avinger, while Pettingill Switch was located two miles north of Avinger. Equipment included a 44-inch Sterne boiler, an 111-inch by 14-inch Bland steam engine, the complete sawmill, and two log wagons with twelve oxen. County records further reveal that Hooten soon defaulted, and Brown Lumber Company ordered its Trustee, W. W. Woods, to sell the property. Apparently, the financial problem was resolved, for J. M. Hooten's saw mill appeared in the 1905 and 1907 editions of the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association.

Corporate Name: J. M. Murphy
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. M. Murphy
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: J. M. Murphy manufactured lumber in Hughes Springs in 1907.

Corporate Name: J. Pierce Littleton
Owner/Company Affiliation: J. Pierce Littleton
Location: Unknown
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: Late 1840s to early 1850s
Capacity Comments: 50,000 feet during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber and cornmeal
Power Source: Water
Equipment: Sawmill and grist mill
City/Town: Unknown
Historical Development: According to census records for the year ending June 1, 1850, J. Pierce Littleton's water-powered saw and grist mill, with a capital investment of $500, produced 50,000 feet of lumber, valued at $500, during the census year. The grist mill ground 1,270 bushels worth $1,370. Littleton employed two workers earning $12 each per month. The mill had 300 saw logs, worth $66, and 1600 bushels of corn.

Corporate Name: Jefferson Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Jefferson Lumber Company with James Hervey Bemis. Kildare Lumber Company
Location: Atlanta (mills also at Kildare and Jefferson)
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1889 to 1901
Capacity Comments: Estimated 40,000 feet of lumber daily
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: The Jefferson Lumber Company was a big player in lumber and logging in Northeast Texas before 1900. W. B. Ward and James Hervey Bemis, both primary owners of Jefferson Lumber, had been selling company acreage as early as 1885, according to county records. The firm had large plants at Jefferson and Linden and created a new plant at Atlanta about 1889. John D. Hanes wrote that the Atlanta plant was south of the Sheets Brothers lumber mill. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794. Marion County Deed Record reveal that Jefferson Lumber Company, with J. H. Bemis as President, bought 1,600 acres in 1889 from R. M. and E. L. Galloway and R. M. Galloway's commissary, oxen, and wagons. W. G. Ragley was superintendent by the next year, after the closing of his own mill in the southwest part of Jefferson. In July, 1892, the company was in financial straits. Its ownership of W. B. Ward, Jno. H. Bemis, W. B. Chew, and Elijah Robinson ordered its Trustees, H. A. O'Neal and E. A. Allday, to sell the company to Kildare Lumber Company, W. B. Ward, President for $171,000. Property included the plants, the Kildare Mill and Mill No 2 and planing mills, at Kildare with the Kildare & Linden ( a locomotive, twenty-four logging cars, a box car, a passenger car, and twelve miles of tracks, with stations at both towns); and the sawmill and planing mill at Atlanta, with the Atlanta & Mt Pleasant (two locomotives). Robinson gave a quit claim on Kildare Lumber Company on July 19, 1892. During the next decade, Jefferson Lumber had financial difficulties. On August 15, 1898, Ed Rand, A. C. Smith, and M. Jacobs conveyed to W. A. Rule the assets of the former Kildare Lumber Company, worth $25,000 of sawmills, planing mills, railroad stock, etc. Rule, as agent of the National Bank of Commerce ,could sell the property if the note was not met. The plants were taken over by Clark & Boice Lumber about 1900.

Corporate Name: Joe W. Liles
Owner/Company Affiliation: Joe W. Liles
Location: Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: At least 1905
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Shingle mill
City/Town: Linden
Historical Development: The firm of Joe W. Liles was noted in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, Chicago, January 1905 but not in the 1907 listing.

Corporate Name: John Allison
Owner/Company Affiliation: John Allison
Location: Precinct 4, 1880, near Queen City
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 400,000 board feet produced during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: 40-horsepower steam engine
Equipment: A circular sawmill
City/Town: Precinct 4
Historical Development: John Allison's sawmill operated for four months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was declared a $4,300 capital value. Allison paid from $1.25 to $2.00 per day in wages to employees for eleven-hour shifts. He paid $900 in total wages for a work force ranging from seven to twelve. Allison logged in the vicinity of the sawmill. The mill produced 400,000 feet of lumber, valued at $3,600, from $2,000 worth of sawlogs and supplies. This may be the same John Allison who had a sawmill in Red River County enumerated in the 1870 Census.

Corporate Name: John Bannon
Owner/Company Affiliation: John Bannon
Location: Queen City
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles and ginned cotton
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Shingle machine and cotton gin
City/Town: Queen City
Historical Development: According to John Hanes' unpublished manuscript, John Bannon operated a gin and shingle operation at Queen City. The time frame probably would have been prior to 1900.

Corporate Name: John Fleming
Owner/Company Affiliation: John Fleming
Location: Precinct 3, 1880 Census, Cass County.
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 100,000 board feet during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: "Horses"
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Precinct 3
Historical Development: Census records reveal that John Fleming ran a lumber mill in Precinct 3, Cass County, during the census year ending May 31, 1880. He had a declared $1000 invested in the operation which was powered by "horses." He employed two men to whom he paid $.75 to $1.50 per day and paid out a total of $200 in wages. The sawmill produced 100,000 board feet valued at $1,000 from $550 worth of sawlogs and supplies. This John Fleming may be a part of Fleming & Brother at Bassett in 1884.

Corporate Name: John French & Son
Owner/Company Affiliation: John French
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Pine rough and finished lumber, shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Pine saw mill, shingle mill, and planing mill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: French's pine sawmill, shingle mill, and planing mill at Avinger was listed in an 1884 railroad directory. He was also listed as having a lumber operation in Marion County, at Lasater.

Corporate Name: John Lingold Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: John Lingold Lumber Company. N. D. Caton. R. H. Poole. E. C. Henderson. Whitworth Bros. A. M. Rhyne.
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: A. M. Rhyne; Henderson, 1910; Poole, 1926; Caton, 1928; John M. Lingold, to 1944.
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Hardwood and yellow pine lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: From a planing mill (1910) to a complete sawmill plant (1916)
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: The planing mill at Avinger went through the hands of A. M. Rhyne, Whitworth Brothers, E. C. Henderson, R. H. Poole, and N. D. Caton before John Lingold took over the operation at the death of Caton, his father-in-law. Poole had expanded the site in 1916 to a sawmill. An article in The Gulf Coast Lumber reported, in 1949, that Lingold had owned and operated a sawmill at Avinger from 1932 to 1944. The latter date may be too late. The mill town was a rough and ready operation, according to Avinger historian Fred McKenzie. Unpainted, two- and three-bedroom tenant houses, most without utilities, were available to married workers. White single men could stay at the company boarding house. Whites and blacks had their own housing areas. Brawling was not uncommon. The large mill ran day and nights during the Depression,providing work for many blacks and whites. For many years, the pay was low as a $1.00, and that in non-cash script, redeemable only at a twenty percent discount at the commissary.. The coins were referred as "'damned Lingold dobies" and "'brozines.'" The script was redeemable only at the company commissary, which caused much worker dissatisfaction. The script was numerous in relation to other script and hard money in the community, which inflated the already high prices. Employees included A. C. Dodd, planer foreman; Henry Paul, mill foreman; Frank Crane, sawmiller; Dr. John Shaddix, company doctor. Fred McKenzie reported that Lingold could not handle a large Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan, which led to bankruptcy, and "the big Lingold mill finally shut down for good at the end of the turbulent thirties . . . . the mill was dismantled, the mill houses removed, and the land returned to the barren state of a typical abandoned sawmill ground." He sold his business and moved to Crockett, where he built sawmill machinery and later opened the Texoak Flooring Company.

Corporate Name: John Waldrup
Owner/Company Affiliation: John Waldrup
Location: Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: The John Waldrup sawmill appeared in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1907, but not in the 1905 edition. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794.

Corporate Name: Keasler Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Keasler Lumber Company
Location: Hughes Springs
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1934
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine and retail lumber yard
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: Keasler Lumber Company ran a lumber manufacturing business and retail yard at Hughes Springs in 1934.

Corporate Name: Kelly Mills
Owner/Company Affiliation: Kelly Mills
Location: Beats Nos. 1-6
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1859 to 1860
Capacity Comments: 800,000 feet of lumber during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber and cornmeal
Power Source: Two steam engines
Equipment: Sawmill and grist mill
City/Town: Beat Nos. 1-6
Historical Development: The Kelly Mills manufactured lumber and ground meal. Valued at $3,600, it had raw materials of 500 cords of wood valued at $500 and 16,000 bushels of corn valued at $16,000. It carried a payroll of eight men averaging $20 each in monthly wages. It produced 800,000 feet of lumber valued at $8,000 and 16,000 bushels of cornmeal valued at $19,110.

Corporate Name: Lawrence & Rodden
Owner/Company Affiliation: Lawrence & Rodden
Location: Mims Chapel area near Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Mims Chapel
Historical Development: Lawrence & Rodden had a sawmill, according to Fred McKenzie, in the greater Mims Chapel area near Avinger.

Corporate Name: Logan and Logwood
Owner/Company Affiliation: Logan and Logwood
Location: Precinct 1, 1880 U.S. Census, with post office at Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 100,000 board feet during the reporting period of the census
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: A sawmill with two circulars and a gang
City/Town: Post office at Linden
Historical Development: The Logan and Logwood sawmill operated for nine months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was valued at $2,000. This operation produced one hundred thousand board feet during the reporting period valued at $1,000 from $550 worth of sawlogs and supplies. The firm normally employed four men and eight at peak. They were paid $.60 per day for ten-hour shifts. Logging was done locally in the county. The product was not shipped and was used locally.

Corporate Name: Luanna community sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: Luanna community sawmill
Location: Luanna, six miles from Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: Early 1900s
Capacity Comments: N/A
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmills
City/Town: Luanna
Historical Development: According to Webb, the small community of Luanna, six miles from Linden, was a sawmill town during the early 1900s

Name: M. A. Graley
Owner/Company Affiliation: M. A. Graley
Location: Five miles west of Springfield (Springdale)
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1911
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Rough and finished lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill and planing mill
City/Town: West of Springfield (Springdale)
Historical Development: M. A. Graley, in 1911, secured a mortgage with Texarkana Lumber Company in order to get a planing mill, steam machinery, four mules, and four wagons. A deed of trust, executed nine days earlier than the one with Texarkana Lumber, reveals that Graley had a sawmill five miles west of Springdale. He perhaps had bought the old Spencer Mill there.

Corporate Name: M. C. Lively
Owner/Company Affiliation: Mark C. Lively
Location: Precinct 7, 1880 U.S. Census Post office at Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: About 750,000 feet of lumber during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Post office at Linden
Historical Development: The M. C. Lively sawmill operated for eleven months during the census year ending May 31, 1880. Employing six men normally and ten at peak, Lively paid $1.00 daily for nine-hour shifts in the winter and eleven-hour shifts in the summer. He paid out $2000 total in wages. From $4,000 worth of sawlogs and supplies, the sawmill produced a value of $7,600 in lumber (about 750,000 board feet) and another $2,000 in other products. Lively operated for a short time beginning in 1883 a sawmill at or near Atlanta.

Corporate Name: M. E. Boyle
Owner/Company Affiliation: M. E. Boyle
Location: Precinct 7, 1880 U.S. Census. Post office at Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 3,000,000 board feet produced during reporting period.
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Three circular sawmills
City/Town: Precinct 7, post office at Linden
Historical Development: The M. E. Boyle sawmill operated the entire year during the census year ending May 31, 1880. It was valued at $9,000. Boyle paid from $1.25 to $2.50 per day in wages to fifteen men normally and twenty-five at peak production and logging. He paid out $6,000 total in wages. The work day was ten to eleven hours depending on the season. Boyle did his own logging. From $16,000 in sawlogs and supplies, the sawmill produced three million board feet valued at $24,000. The sawmill was the largest in Cass County at the time and one of the larger ones in Texas.

Corporate Name: Milner & Smith
Owner/Company Affiliation: Milner & Smith
Location: Jaybart, with Linden as post office
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1905 to 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Jaybart
Historical Development: The Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association listing of 1905 reveals Milner & Smith was manufacturing lumber at Jaybart and in 1907.

Corporate Name: N. D. Caton Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: D. W. Downey Lumber Company. N. D. Caton Lumber Company.
Location: Mims Chapel area, near Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1920s
Capacity Comments: 20,000 sawmill feet daily and 20,000 planing mill daily
Type of Mill: Shortleaf yellow pine, hardwood, specializing in crossties
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Circular sawmill and planing mill, with edgers, trimmers, dry kilns
City/Town: Mims Chapel
Historical Development: Downey was operating a sawmill and planing mill, with a commissary, at Avinger in 1928. Fred McKenzie's work indicates that the lumber plant was founded some years earlier. McKenzie believed that N. D. Caton bought the company from Downey before 1928.

Corporate Name: Nash Brothers
Owner/Company Affiliation: Nash Brothers
Location: Precinct 2, 1880 Census
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1879 to 1880
Capacity Comments: 1,000,000 board feet produced during reporting period
Type of Mill: Lumber. No remanufactures
Power Source: 25-horsepower steam engine
Equipment: Circular sawmill
City/Town: Unknown
Historical Development: Nash Brothers' sawmill in Precinct 2 of Cass County, during the reporting period ending May 31, 1880, ran fulltime for twelve months. It employed six to fifteen men who were paid $1.00 to $1.50 daily for ten-hour shifts. The firm paid out $1750 in total wages during that period. The 25-horsepower steam sawmill produced a million board feet valued at $10,000 from $5,500 in sawlogs and supplies.

Corporate Name: North Texas Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Wesley Morse, president and general manager; Fred J. Clark, vice-president. North Texas Lumber Company.
Location: Kildare
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1912 to 1915
Capacity Comments: 50,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Rough and finished lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: A circular sawmill, planing mill, and dry kilns.
City/Town: Kildare
Historical Development: North Texas Lumber Company had a sawmill at Kildare. It is known that the Cass County timber supplied to this mill was shared by two other mills: the North Texas Lumber Company's mill at Linden and the Clark & Boice mill at Jefferson. The Kildare mill was similar to its sister mill at Linden, having around a 50,000 feet per day capacity and similar planers, kilns, sheds, and tramways. Not much else is known about the mill, however. The Southern Industrial and Lumber Review, echoing an article from The Gulf Coast Lumberman of June 15, 1915, reported on July 20, 1915 that the mill of the North Texas Lumber Company at Kildare had cut out and would be dismantled "at once."

Corporate Name: Pine Valley Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Pine Valley Lumber Company
Location: Bivens
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1905
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Bivens
Historical Development: Pine Valley Lumber appeared in the January 1905 and 1907 editions of the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association as a manufacturer of yellow pine lumber.

Corporate Name: Queen City Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Queen City Lumber Company. In 1909, Joe Fuqua, President.
Location: Queen City, three miles north of Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1888 to at least 1909
Capacity Comments: 50,000 feet daily in 1893
Type of Mill: Rough and finished lumber
Power Source: Probably steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Queen City
Historical Development: Queen City Lumber Company, according to John D. Hanes, built a sawmill two miles north of Atlanta in 1888. The company, in 1893, was reported to be cutting 50,000 feet daily at Queen City. During the early years, it operated a joint tram operation with Grigsby Brothers, Scott, and Temple. By 1909, a document that indicates it might have been in financial trouble also reveals aspects of its operations. On October 11, 1909, the company mortgaged the following assets to the Texarkana National Bank. Equipment included a sawmill, a planing mill, an edger, moulder, resaw, three steam engines, two boilers, circular saws, fifteen buggies, and three sets of tenant housing. Five two- and three-room houses were located each at the planing mill and Mill No. 2. Mill No. 1 had ten two- and three-bedroom tenant houses. Joe Fuqua was listed as the company president of Queen City Lumber Company.

Corporate Name: R. F. McLean
Owner/Company Affiliation: R. F. McLean
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Yellow pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: R. F. McLean manufactured lumber in Hughes Springs in 1907.

Corporate Name: R. H. Early
Owner/Company Affiliation: R. H. Early
Location: West of Linden
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1895
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber and shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and shingle machine
City/Town: West of Linden
Historical Development: R. H. Early, according to the History of Cass County, Texas, had a small sawmill and shingle mill that burned on October 25, 1895.

Corporate Name: R. H. Poole Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: R. H. Poole Lumber Company
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1930s to early 1940s. Later a planing mill until 1956.
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Rough and finished lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill and later a planing mill only
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: R. H. Poole sold out his sawmill to N. D. Caton in 1928. He soon constructed a new lumber facility on Turkey Creek, where the Vance Jenkins home is now located (1988), according to Fred McKenzie. He cut out and moved to Pruitt's Lake. After cutting out there, he moved back to Avinger and built his final mill. This sawmill burned to the ground and allegedly was not rebuilt. The company was listed as the Pool Lumber company in the 1934 edition of the Lumbermen's Credit Rating Book. The Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1956-1958 lists the Rufus H. Poole Lumber Company. It operated a planing mill. Poole's does not appear in the Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1960.

Corporate Name: R. N. Rand
Owner/Company Affiliation: R. N. Rand
Location: Kildare
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Pine lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Kildare
Historical Development: This company is listed in the 1907 Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association.

Corporate Name: Ray & Ray
Owner/Company Affiliation: Ray & Ray
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900 to 1906
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: Ray & Ray had sawmills at Hughes Springs (Hughes)and Jaybart in Cass County in 1905, according to thee Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1905 rating. The company ran a regular sawmill town, complete with a boarding house. The nine Ray brothers formed the nucleus of the company baseball team.

Corporate Name: Reed & Mirror
Owner/Company Affiliation: Reed & Mirror
Location: Hughes Springs
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Shingle mills
City/Town: Hughes Springs
Historical Development: The firm of Reed & Mirror at Hughes Springs was listed in an 1884 railroad directory.

Corporate Name: Richard's Sawmill
Owner/Company Affiliation: Richard's Sawmill
Location: About one mile southwest of Atlanta, near T&P railroad
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1910
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Steam ?
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: Richard's Sawmill appeared on the March 1910 edition of the United States Geological Survey map as located about one mile southwest of Atlanta, near the Texas & Pacific railroad tracks. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794.

Corporate Name: Rush Brothers
Owner/Company Affiliation: Rush Brothers
Location: Springdale, two miles north of Queen City
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Hardwood and pine rough and dressed lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and planing mills
City/Town: Springdale
Historical Development: Rush Brothers was listed in a railroad directory with a sawmill at Springdale.

Corporate Name: Scroggins Brothers
Owner/Company Affiliation: Scroggins Brothers
Location: Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber, shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill and shingle mill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: The Scroggins Bros sawmill was listed in an 1884 railroad directory at Avinger. They had a saw and planing mill at Hughes Springs, too.

Corporate Name: Sheets Brothers
Owner/Company Affiliation: E. F., A., and Charlie Sheets
Location: Near Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1884 to about 1893
Capacity Comments: Estimated 50,000 feet daily
Type of Mill: Rough and finished lumber
Power Source: Steam
Equipment: Sawmill and planing mill
City/Town: Atlanta
Historical Development: John D. Hanes noted that the Sheets Brothers opened a sawmill and planer in 1884 at Atlanta. The following year, they removed the sawmill out to the road to Rodessa but left the planer in town. They built about three-quarters of a mile from the depot. Sheets Brothers, Temple, Scott, and Queen City Lumber Company operated a joint tram operation for some years. Cass County records note that the company operated until the early 1890s. Their plant was located on Jane Richey land in Atlanta, which must have placed them very close to the Temple & Scott, later Atlanta Lumber Company. A Deed of Trust in 1890 reveals that some of their equipment included the sawmill, a planing mill, two boilers, an edger, a lathe machine, and eighty oxen. They may have sold out to either Atlanta Lumber Company or Jefferson Lumber Company by 1893. Atlanta, according to the Handbook of Texas, was established on the Texas and Pacific route about 1872. By 1890 it had a population of 1,794.

Corporate Name: Smith Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Smith Lumber Company
Location: Hughes Springs or Hughes
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1907
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Finished lumber and shingles
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Planing mill and shingle mill
City/Town: Hughes Springs or Hughes
Historical Development: Smith Lumber Company had the only planing and shingle mills in Hughes Springs in 1907.

Corporate Name: Spencer
Owner/Company Affiliation: Spencer
Location: Five miles west of Springfield (Springdale), between Queen City and Atlanta
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1903
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: West of Springfield (Springdale)
Historical Development: A deed of trust between H. Munz of the Redwater Lumber Company in Bowie County and Spencer's mill, five miles west of Springfield, contracted Spencer's Mill to provide its sawmill cut to Redwater Lumber in 1903. Springdale and Springfield are the same community in Cass County. A (Texas) Railroad Commission Map of 1912 places Springfield at the location of Springdale on a 1923 map next to the tracks of the Texas & Pacific.

Corporate Name: Steger Lumber Company
Owner/Company Affiliation: Steger Lumber Company
Location: Southwest corner of present-day Avinger
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: About 1900 to 1915
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Type of Mill: Lumber
Power Source: Unknown
Equipment: Sawmill
City/Town: Avinger
Historical Development: The Steger Lumber Company, according to Fred McKenzie, was located in or near Avinger. It operated its mill on what is now the southwest corner of town.

Corporate Name: Stone & Campbell
Owner/Company Affiliation: Stone and Campbell
Location: Beats Nos. 1-6
County: Cass
Comment on Periods of Operation: 1859 to 1860
Capacity Comments: 200,000 feet of lumber and 15,000 bushels of cornmeal during the reporting period of the Census
Type of Mill: Lumber and cornmeal
Power Source: 20horsepower steam engine
Equipment: Sawmill and grist mill
City/Town: Beats Nos. 1-6
Historical Development: The firm of Stone & Campbell operated a multi-purpose mill manufactured lumber and ground meal. It had raw materials of 400 cords of wood valued at $1,000 and 15,000 bushels of corn valued at $15,000. It carried a payroll of four men averaging $20 each in monthly wages. It produced 200,000 feet of lumber valued at $2,000 and 15,000 bushels of cornmeal valued at $18,000.