Sawmill |
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Z. W. Cannon |
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Location: Three miles below Wallisville
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| Corporate Name: Z. W. Cannon Local Name: Stephens Mill Owner/Company Affiliation: Wallisville Lumber Company, W. E. Stephens. Z. W. Cannon. Location: Three miles below Wallisville County: Chambers Comment on Periods of Operation: 1895 to 1904 Capacity Comments: 20,000 feet daily Type of Mill: Dressed and undressed lumber Power Source: Steam Equipment: Sawmill with edger, cutoff saw, a planer and dry kilns Mill Pond: No City/Town: Three miles below Wallisville Company Town?: Yes Size of Company Town at Peak: 128 in 1905 Associated Railroads: At Liberty: Texas & New Orleans Historical Development: Wallisville Lumber Company, prior to C. R. Cummings centralization of his export company at Wallisville, was the major lumber power at Wallisville in the 1890s. In 1896, the Company put a boom on the river next to the mill. During the summer of 1898, the mill was working ten hours a day, being supplied by water and local farmers. According to Pearson et al., the Wallisville Lumber Company advertised in June 1898 that it was a manufacturer and dealer in undressed and dressed pine, cypress, and ash. By the nature of its advertising, the mill probably dry kilns and a planer. The American Lumberman noted in 1900 that the Wallasville Lumber Company of W. E Stephens was reported to be out of business. The American Lumberman noted that in 1901 the Wallisville Lumber Company was succeeded by Z. W. Cannon. No record exists of its demise, but it was not listed in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1905 edition. The business remained small through 1900: only forty-four workers in the county were listed as lumberman. With the Stephens Mill, John Cook's mill, and the Kilgore & Beckwith mill competing for mill hands, all of the mills were small by necessity and certainly did not do their own logging. Comments: Data Sheet: M. Johnson Date Prepared: MCJ 04-15-96 Bibliography: Wallisville Age. December 22, 1897; March 5, 1897; June 14, 15, October 5, 1898. (Galveston) Daily News. December 10, 1896. Manuscript Census Returns of 1900, Chambers County, Texas. (Liberty) Vindicator. July 23, 1897. Coastal Environments, Inc. "Cultural Resources Evaluation of the J. J. Mayes Farm and the Cummings Lumber Mill, Wallisville Lake Project Area, Texas." Baton Rouge, Texas: privately printed, 1985. Prepared by Charles E. Pearson, William Louis Fullen, Margaret S. Henson, and George J. Castille. 28. American Lumberman. June 9, 1900. 19. Alpha: CH Number: 24 Years of Operation: Start: 1895 Years of Operation: End: 1904 Years of Operation: Number: Years of Operation: Decades: 1890-1899 Capacity: 20000: 1896 Company Owned Tram?: No Mill Type : Pine Sawmill, Hardwood Sawmill, Planer, Cypress Sawmill Power : Steam Production : Rough Lumber, Other Commentary: Commentary Date: |
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