Research: Sawmill Database

Alpha-Numeric Key:	JE-43
Corporate Name:	Vidor Lumber Co.
Local Name:
Owner Name:	Vidor Lumber Co. A Garland Anthony facility, the co-owners were Grady Grigsby and James H. Payne in 1949.
Location:	Box 428, Vidor
County:	Jefferson
Years in Operation:	12 years
Start Year:	1946
End Year:	1957
Decades:	1940-1949
Period of Operation:	1946 to 1957
Town:	Vidor
Company Town:	2
Peak Town Size:	Unknown
Mill Pond:
Type of Mill:	Hardwood and cypress and pine products 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:	50000: 1949
Capacity Comments:	1949: 50,000 to 60,000 feet daily
Produced:	Rough Lumber Planed Lumber Crossties Timbers Lathe Ceiling Unknown Beading Flooring Paper Plywood Particle Board Treated Other
Equipment:	1949: band saw and head rigs, Moore dry kilns, horizontal band re-saw, gang trimmer, planing mill, three lift trucks, two Ross carriers, and a drop sorter by 1950.
Company Tram:
Associated Railroads:	Unknown
Historicial Development:	The Directory of Texas Manufacturers 1954 lists the Vidor Lumber Company as being established in 1946. Owners were Grady Grigsby and J. H. Payne. The sawmill burned on June 11, 1947. By June, 1949, a new mill had been built. A Garland Anthony facility, the co-owners were Grady Grigsby and James H. Payne. The operation included the addition of a drop sorter system for arranging the lengths of wood for the appropriate piles for the dry kiln system. This mill's cutting capacity approached 60,000 feet daily. It had one of the few horizontal resaws in the Texas at the time. The company was listed in Nelson Samson's Directory of Wood-Using and Related Industries in East Texas.
Research Date:	JKG 8-23-93, MCJ 03-12-96
Prepared By:	J. Gerland, M. Johnson