| Alpha-Numeric Key: | GG-12 |
| Corporate Name: | Ketchum & Co. |
| Local Name: | Red Rock Mills |
| Owner Name: | Ketchum & Co. Forman, Ketchum, & Co [Ketcham]. George Ross and Christian Kriegs. Byram, Forman & Co. John H. Forman. |
| Location: | Red Rock on the Sabine River and Highway 271, near Gladewater |
| County: | Gregg |
| Years in Operation: | 19 years |
| Start Year: | 1875 |
| End Year: | 1893 |
| Decades: | 1870-1879,1880-1889,1890-1899 |
| Period of Operation: | 1875 to 1893 |
| Town: | Red Rock, near Gladewater |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | Unknown |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Lumber and laths
 Sawmill |
 Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Steam with two boilers and one 50-horsepower engine
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 8000: 1880 30000: 1893 |
| Capacity Comments: | Two million board feet in five months in 1880. 30,000 feet daily in 1893. |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Circular and muley sawmill |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Texas & Pacific |
| Historicial Development: | The Red Rock sawmill site located on the Sabine River began as a shingle mill. In 1875, according to Gregg County records, John H. Forman bought an one-quarter interest in 600 acres, lumber and shingles in the firm of Byram, Forman, & Co. The company had a shingle mill and possibly a sawmill in the county. The company was known as Forman Ketchum & Co by 1880 and was listed by an 1880 Chicago publication as located at Gladewater.
The 1880 Census lists the mill as being in Precinct 3 of Gregg County. During the reporting period, the mill from $10,300 worth of raw materials a total of two million board feet of lumber and four hundred thousand laths at a gross value of $20,800. The mill operated fulltime for five months. The mill employed thirty-five to forty-five men at daily wages ranging from $1.50 to $3.00 for ten-hour shifts; the men earned a combined total wage of $6,000 during the reporting period. Logging was done by the company woods crew near the mill.
The company had become Ketchum & Co by 1893, when the Galveston Weekly News reported the sawmill to be cutting 30,000 feet daily.
|
| Research Date: | MCJ 04-19-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |