| Alpha-Numeric Key: | MO-99 |
| Corporate Name: | Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | The Gladstell Lumber Company was a Grogan-Cochran Lumber subdivision in 1917, when the company incorporated. Owners were W. R. Grogan, George L. Grogan, T. R. Cochran. 1949: George L. Grogan, president. |
| Location: | Conroe |
| County: | Montgomery |
| Years in Operation: | 59 years |
| Start Year: | 1915 |
| End Year: | 1973 |
| Decades: | 1910-1919,1920-1929,1930-1939,1940-1949,1950-1959,1960-1969,1970-1979, |
| Period of Operation: | About 1915 to 1973. Sold to I. H.-45 North in 1973. |
| Town: | Conroe |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | Unknown |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Dimensions, flooring, roof decking. In 1962, pulpwood chips were added.
 Sawmill |
 Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Steam, electric
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 50000: 1946 35000: 1966 |
| Capacity Comments: | 50,000 feet daily in 1946; 35,000 feet daily in 1966. |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | A circular sawmill with a planer and resaw. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Unknown |
| Historicial Development: | Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company operated mills in Montgomery County from after 1910 to the early 1970s. The owners and incorporators of the new Grogan-Cochran Company in 1917 were also operating the Gladstell Lumber Company at Gladstell, when the name was changed to the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company. In 1946, it had bought 25,000 acres of stumpage from South Texas Development Corporation. The mill was described as having a daily cutting capacity of 50,000 feet, and had a modern planter, and Moore cross-circulation dry kilns. On November 28, 1950, a fire partially destroyed the facility. The planer, kilns, and a shed were saved. By 1962, the mill had been completely remodernized. The cutting capacity could reach 44,000 to 48,000 feet in an eight hour shift. Steam was used for the shotgun, carriage, and kilns, but electricity ran everything else. A new product was pulpwood chips, created by a Cambio debarker, a chipper and screens. The planer had added a resaw and another matcher.
The company appeared under the Gladstell name in Samson's 1957 edition of Directory of Wood-Using and Related Industries in East Texas. A later directory reported that the sawmill had a kiln and worked with southern pine. The daily cutting capacity had dropped to 35,000 feet. Management included, in 1962 brothers Horace Grogan, president; J. G. Grogan, vice president; and Paul Grogan, secretary/treasurer. By 1966, Grogan Bros was the largest employer in Montgomery County with between 125 and 150 workers.
|
| Research Date: | MCJ 03-20-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |