| Alpha-Numeric Key: | CK-276 |
| Corporate Name: | Morrill Orchard Company |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Morrill Orchard Company |
| Location: | Morrill, about four miles south of Wells, near Brunswick Switch |
| County: | Cherokee |
| Years in Operation: | 8 years |
| Start Year: | 1903 |
| End Year: | 1910 |
| Decades: | 1900-1909,1910-1919 |
| Period of Operation: | 1903 to 1910 |
| Town: | Morrill, near Brunswick Switch |
| Company Town: | 2 |
| Peak Town Size: | Unknown |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Crates, baskets, shingles
 Sawmill |
Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
 Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Probably steam
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | |
| Capacity Comments: | Unknown |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Planing mill equipment, shingle machine, and tram road |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) |
| Historicial Development: | W. T. Block wrote that “The old Fairres Farm on present-day Highway 21, where once penitentiary convicts worked as contract laborers, eventually became the huge Morrill Orchard Company in 1903, and along with Brunswick Lumber Company, had its rail head located at Brunswick Switch.” Local historical memory or tradition has little about this operation. According to H. C. Polk, Jr., his father worked at the mill located at “the Morrill Orchard” shoeing horses for the outfit. Its local planing mill made crates, baskets, and shingles in taking care of the plant's industrial needs.
Block wrote that Richard Morrill and Associates had one of the nation's largest fruit packing plants constructed at Morrill, near the Cotton Belt. The railroad spent $100,000 in building the depot, siding, and spur for the factory. The peach orchard covered 1,400 acres. The tram operations involved more than six miles of tracks.
|
| Research Date: | MCJ 01-30-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |