| Alpha-Numeric Key: | CK-2 |
| Corporate Name: | Sessions Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Rube Sessions. Later Homer Sessions. |
| Location: | Wells: .35 miles north on highway 69 from Cherokee/Angelina county line |
| County: | Cherokee |
| Years in Operation: | 49 years |
| Start Year: | 1912 |
| End Year: | 1960 |
| Decades: | 1900-1909,1910-1919,1920-1929,1930-1939,1940-1949,1950-1959,1960-1969, |
| Period of Operation: | 1912 to 1960 (moved his mill from Forest in 1912) |
| Town: | Wells |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | Ten tenant houses |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Mostly pine, some hardwood.
 Sawmill |
Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
 Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Steam then electric
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 15000: 1928 40000: 1934 |
| Capacity Comments: | 15,000 feet daily (1928); 1934: 40,000 feet; 1940s: estimated 40,000 feet (Polk) |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | A circular sawmill, planing mill, edgers, trimmers. He had no dry kilns in 1928 (used Arkansas dry kilns). Steam-powered dry kilns were installed later. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | St Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) |
| Historicial Development: | Rube Sessions moved his mill north of Wells in 1912. Annual rental of trackage rights over the Texas and Southeastern was $450 per mile in 1912. Sessions bought lumber from other mills in the area. The planer was located adjacent to the tracks. The plant appeared in the Southern Lumberman's 1928 directory of sawmills, listed as having a 15,000-feet daily capacity with the use of an older, slower planer. The mill cut gum, oak, and shortleaf pine, but did no millwork nor retail at Wells. In 1934, a highway right of way forced Sessions to move his new steam mill to the south of Wells. With dry kilns and planers, Sessions increased his estimated daily capacity to 40,000 board feet. The mill was rebuilt in 1939. Sales were done with old-fashioned “drumming.” The salesmen, Bob Falvey and Bob Drew, in particular, would typically leave Wells on Monday on a selling trip and return on Friday. Most of the hardwood, including all of the gum, was sold to a box factory in Jacksonville. Homer Sessions bought out his father Rube in 1951. Much of the machinery was changed from steam to electric, the dry kilns being the noticeable exception. The sawmill burned down in 1960. In 1964, the company was advertising for sale the following located at Wells: a planer, matcher, band resaw, steam boilers, a dry kiln, logging equipment, and vehicles.
Cooper recalled that Sessions had about ten tenant houses for employees. Sessions had a large commissary in downtown Wells that burned in the 1930s. He paid in “Session checks,” which could be redeemed at the commissary. He also provided the local picture show. Polk believed that Sessions operated the store as a convenience to his employees because the profit margin was small . Goods were cheaper at the store than other commercial outlets, and his “checks” were redeemed from other merchants.
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| Research Date: | JKG 8-27-93, MCJ 12-08-95 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M. Johnson |