Research: Sawmill Database

Alpha-Numeric Key: MA-43
Corporate Name: Jefferson Lumber Company
Local Name:
Owner Name: Jefferson Lumber Company with James Hervey Bemis and W. B. Ward. Kildare Lumber Company.
Location: Mills at Jefferson in Marion County and Kildare and Linden in Cass County
County: Marion
Years in Operation: 17 years
Start Year: 1885
End Year: 1901
Decades: 1880-1889,1890-1899,1900-1909
Period of Operation: 1885 to 1901
Town: Mills at Jefferson in Marion County and Kildare and Linden in Cass County
Company Town: 1
Peak Town Size: Unknown
Mill Pond:
Type of Mill: 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: 40000: 1893
Capacity Comments: 40,000 feet in 1893
Produced:
Rough Lumber Planed Lumber Crossties Timbers
Lathe Ceiling Unknown Beading
Flooring Paper Plywood Particle Board
Treated Other
Equipment: Sawmill
Company Tram:
Associated Railroads: Texas & Pacific
Historicial Development: The Jefferson Lumber Company was founded by James Bemis, W. B. Ward, and others in the early 1880s, and lumber interests stretching as far north as Texarkana. The companies eventually failed financially, and most of the assets at Kildare, Linden, and Jefferson came under the control of Clark & Boice Lumber Company of Jefferson, including the tracks and rolling stock of the Kildare & Linden and the Atlanta & Mt. Pleasant. W. B. Ward and James Hervey Bemis, both primary owners in Jefferson Lumber Company, sold company acreage as early as 1885, according to county records. The Jefferson Lumber Company was reported to be cutting 40,000 feet daily in 1893 at its Jefferson plant and 50,000 feet daily at its Kildare plant. Reed reports that Jefferson Lumber had its own logging tram, the Kildare & Linden Railway Company, which operated from 1889 to 1901, when it was abandoned, according to Zlatkovich. In fact, the Jefferson & Northwestern Railway Company, the steam logging tram road of the Clark & Boice Lumber Company at Jefferson, acquired the Kildare & Linden. Jefferson Lumber Company also owned the Atlanta & Mt Pleasant Railway Company, another tram road.
Research Date: MCJ 05-04-96
Prepared By: M Johnson