Research: Sawmill Database

Alpha-Numeric Key:	MO-174
Corporate Name:	Melvin Beeson Lumber Company
Local Name:
Owner Name:	Melvin Beeson Lumber Company. W. E. Neely. L. E. Jowell in 1955. A. E. Hervey Lumber Company.
Location:	One half-mile north of Willis
County:	Montgomery
Years in Operation:	7 years
Start Year:	1951
End Year:	1957
Decades:	1950-1959
Period of Operation:	1951 to 1957
Town:	Willis
Company Town:	1
Peak Town Size:	Unknown
Mill Pond:
Type of Mill:	Rough and dressed pine products. Sawmill Pine Sawmill Hardwood Sawmill Cypress Sawmill Planer Planer Only Shingle Paper Plywood Cotton Grist Unknown Other
Power Source:	Gasoline and electricity Horse Mule Oxen Water Water Overshot Water Turbine Diesel Unknown Pit Steam Steam Circular Steam Band Gas Electricity Other
Maximum Capacity:
Capacity Comments:	Unknown
Produced:	Rough Lumber Planed Lumber Crossties Timbers Lathe Ceiling Unknown Beading Flooring Paper Plywood Particle Board Treated Other
Equipment:	Sawmill, a carriage, a lift, a dry kiln, a planer, a diesel motor, a cutoff saw, an edger, several saws, a trimmer, and a saw husk with a 6-ft feed
Company Tram:
Associated Railroads:	Unknown
Historicial Development:	O. F. Adams sold Hervey, in 1951, a complete sawmill, including a loader, a lift, a Caterpillar power unit, a diesel engine, a dry kiln and building and kiln trucks, a Woods planer with all cutting heads, a fan, a feed table, a circular resaw, a six-cylinder GM engine, several buildings, trucks, tractors and trailors, and log trucks and trailers. The equipment was located on the James Elkins and G. W. Louis surveys. A. E. Hervey sold his company to L. E. Jowell of Willis in 1955. Jowell sold the company to W. E. Neely in April, 1956, who sold it the next month to Melvin E. Beeson, including the commissary. Equipment in 1956 included the sawmill, a carriage, a lift, a dry kiln, a planer, a diesel motor, a cutoff saw, an edger, several saws, a trimmer, and a saw husk with a 6-ft feed. Both the Melvin Beeson Lumber Company and the A. E. Hervey Lumber Company company appeared in the 1957 edition of Nelson T. Samson's Directory of Wood-Using and Related Industries in East Texas.
Research Date:	MCJ 03-20-96
Prepared By:	M. Johnson