| Alpha-Numeric Key: | OR-6 |
| Corporate Name: | Beaumont Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Beaumont Lumber Company. W. B. Black. (W. H. Black?) |
| Location: | Orange |
| County: | Orange |
| Years in Operation: | 5 years |
| Start Year: | 1872 |
| End Year: | 1876 |
| Decades: | 1870-1879 |
| Period of Operation: | 1872 to 1876 |
| Town: | Orange |
| Company Town: | 2 |
| Peak Town Size: | Unknown |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Lumber and shingles
 Sawmill |
 Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Steam
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 25000: 1876 |
| Capacity Comments: | 200,000 shingles and 25,000 board feet daily |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Large swinging circular saw mill, two bolting saws, two shingle machines |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Texas & New Orleans |
| Historicial Development: | The decade from 1866 to 1876 did not witness a boom in lumber milling at Orange. Before the Civil War normally a half-dozen mills, with a combined cutting capacity of 15,000 to 30,000 feet daily, were operating at or near the city. Of thirty billion feet of timber on both sides of the Sabine, more than a billion of it was within five miles of the city. A hurricane of incredible destructive power struck the area in September 1865, destroying several square miles of timber near the city. Only three sawmills and shingle mills in 1873 were operating at Orange: W. B. Black; Eberle Swinford; and R. B. Russell and Son.
Correspondents' letters to the (Beaumont) Neches Valley News in 1872 mentions Black's mill. It was located in a two-story building. Its saw could cut blocks of timber 36-inches in diameter in fifteen seconds and produce about 150,000 to 200,000 shingles daily. A dozen “boys” worked as shingle bunchers. The (Beaumont) News-Beacon reported in 1873 that the mill engineer fell down a flight of stairs and broke his arm. The Beaumont Lumber Company bought the sawmill in 1876, dismantled it, and moved it to Beaumont, where it became the first of the several sawmills owned by the company. |
| Research Date: | MCJ 03-23-96, JKG 2-7-95 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson, J. Gerland |