| Alpha-Numeric Key: | PK-132 |
| Corporate Name: | W. T. Carter & Brother |
| Local Name: | W. T. Carter and Brother |
| Owner Name: | W. T. Carter & Brother Lumber Company, with William T. Carter, Ernest A. Carter, A. B. Caton. Alfred W. Morris. |
| Location: | Bowers: at intersection of Highway 287 and 62 |
| County: | Polk |
| Years in Operation: | 14 years |
| Start Year: | 1885 |
| End Year: | 1898 |
| Decades: | 1880-1889,1890-1899 |
| Period of Operation: | Morris,1885; W. T. Carter, 1889 to cut out in 1898. |
| Town: | Bowers |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 300 in 1889 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Rough and finished pine lumber
| 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: | 65000: 1889 |
| Capacity Comments: | 65,000 feet daily |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | A complete sawmill with a circular, planing mill, and “Arkansas” dry kilns |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Trinity and Sabine (Missouri Kansas & Texas) with a company tram road |
| Historicial Development: | Alfred W. Morris moved a mill from Morrisville in Montgomery County to a location ten miles east of Corrigan on the newly built Trinity & Sabine Railroad in 1885. The community of Bowers was named for the man who supervised the relocation. Morris' mill burned in 1887, but it was soon rebuilt. The sawmill capacity was 65,000 board feet per day, and the planing mill capacity was 50,000 feet per day in 1889. Population at that time was 300. Sometime between 1889 and 1893, W.T. Carter and Brother Lumber Company purchased Morris' mill, but Morris remained on as mill manager. Carter used Arkansas smoke kilns for drying his lumber and lost eight of them on March 29, 1893.
W. T. Carter & Bro. operated its own tram road. In 1889, tram trains were pulled with two small gear-connected “dinkies” along the eight miles of track from the forest to the boarding house. It is believed the mill cut out by 1897 and the mill was soon dismantled. The post office at Bowers was discontinued in 1898.
|
| Research Date: | JKG 11-16-93, MCJ 02-27-96 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M. Johnson |