| Alpha-Numeric Key: | MO-100 |
| Corporate Name: | Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company. George L. Grogan, president, 1928 to 1949. Lone Star Lumber Company, with J. T. Wurtzbaugh, president. Williams-Hicks Lumber Company, with B. C. Williams, president; N. N. Bates. O. P. Perkins. |
| Location: | Magnolia, west of Conroe |
| County: | Montgomery |
| Years in Operation: | 31 years |
| Start Year: | 1920 |
| End Year: | 1950 |
| Decades: | 1920-1929,1930-1939,1940-1949,1950-1959 |
| Period of Operation: | 1920 until moved to a new site in 1950 (see new entry) |
| Town: | Magnolia |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 450 in 1928; 175 in 1934; 400 in 1940. |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Longleaf and shortleaf yellow pine.
 Sawmill |
Pine Sawmill |
 Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | 1949: Steam
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 50000: 1928 100000: 1950 |
| Capacity Comments: | 1928: 50,000 feet daily; 100,000 feet daily by 1950 |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | 1928: Circular sawmill, edgers, trimmers. 1948: Sawmill, planer. 1949: Single circular, planer, dry kilns. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | International & Great Northern |
| Historicial Development: | In February, 1920, O. P. Perkins sold his sawmill site at Magnolia to B. C. Williams. The facility was leased from R. T. Smith on fifteen acres of land and logging operations were being conducted on 676 acres of Smith. Williams immediately began renovating the facility, ordering new machinery from Lufkin Foundry & Machine Company and the Southern Iron and Equipment Company of Atlanta. The latter sold the William-Hicks Lumber Company a Mogul locomotive. The company logged in Waller County and used a company tram operation to get it to the mill: three locomotives, a steam “jenny,” a small engine, and twelve to fifteen flat cars. Lone Star Lumber Company, J. T. Wurtzbaugh, president, acquired Williams-Hicks about 1925 and sold the company to Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company on January 4, 1928. The Texas Forest News noted that the Magnolia operations of the Grogan family had been manufacturing lumber there since 1927. The original name was the Grogan Lumber Company, later reorganized as the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company. Trinity River Lumber Company handled sales in 1934.
This mill had a history of fire. In September, 1946, five dry kilns burned down, causing $150,000 in damages, of which only $40,000 was insured. H. N. Grogan and T. W. Goodson, the owner and woods boss, led the struggle to overcome the fire. On January 18, 1948, according to Dies, another fire destroyed all the boilers but one. Estimates of the early loss totaled between $75,000 to $100,000. The owners reported that the sawmill and planer should be in operation within two weeks. On August 14, 1949, another fire destroyed the mill, some of the trams, and severely damaged the fuel house. The kiln, planer, and most of the lumber was saved. The $250,000 loss was insured. Plans were made to rebuild the sawmill plant with a single circular and two Moore cross-circulation dry kilns.
It was listed in the Handbook and Directory of the Forest Industries for 1958. |
| Research Date: | MCJ 03-20-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |