| Alpha-Numeric Key: | AG-22 |
| Corporate Name: | William Cameron & Company |
| Local Name: | Michelli or Angelina |
| Owner Name: | William Cameron & Co: William Cameron. Tyler Car & Lumber Company: 1896-A.L. Clark, president; John Durst, Vice-president; J. D. Moody, treasurer; S.A. Fain, secretary. |
| Location: | Michelli, now under Kurth Lake: Northwest end of 116A |
| County: | Angelina |
| Years in Operation: | 13 years |
| Start Year: | 1890 |
| End Year: | 1902 |
| Decades: | 1890-1899,1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | Tyler Car & Lumber Company, ca. 1890-1898; William Cameron and Company on March 14, 1898-1902 |
| Town: | Michelli (Angelina) |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 1000 in 1900 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Rough and dressed lumber, pickets
 Sawmill |
Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Sawmill: 22'x42' steam engine with 52”x16' boilers; planer: 16”x24” engine, two 50”x16' boilers
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 50000: 1893 75000: 1900 |
| Capacity Comments: | 50,000 feet daily in 1893. 18 million feet per year. In 1900, 75,000 to 85,000 feet of lumber daily. |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | A 3-block Allis carriage, a W. F. Hill steam loader, 54-inch saw blades. Planer: 126' line shaft, double surfacer, three matchers, picket header, inside and outside moulders, Hoyt resaw, table edgers, and swinging cut-off saw. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Although adjacent to the Houston East & West Texas, the company shortline logging road, the Sabine, Alexandria & Northern R. R. Co., ran thirteen miles across the county to a connection at Durst Station with the St Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt). |
| Historicial Development: | The Tyler Car and Lumber Company owned and operated this mill from at least 1893 until 1898. The Smith County firm probably built the Michelli mill sometime around 1890. It was the largest mill in Angelina County for its time, cutting 50,000 feet daily in 1893. By 1900 (under Cameron ownership) the mill was reported cutting 85,000 feet per day..
The mill was situated on the Angelina River. The company utilized the river to store its logs by cutting a canal and forming “Michelli Island.” This operation was most peculiar to the Angelina River, and undoubtedly caused logging and milling difficulties. One of its contractors, F. M. Rozelle, floated logs down the Angelina to the boom. The mill was logged by contract and three-fourths of Michelli's woods and mill workers were African-Americans.
Tyler Car and Lumber Co. began as a foundry and machine company about 1886 and branched into lumbering with lumber mills at Michelli and Tyler. It was badly hurt during the Panic of 1893. A suit filed by Paramore Investment Company of St. Louis resulted in the mill's receivership in 1897, and William Cameron and Company of Waco purchased the Michelli plant on March 14, 1898. Cameron made some improvements, and by 1900 the mill's life expectancy was projected to 1910. The mill never made it, however. The nearby Angelina post office was discontinued in February 1902, the mill was soon dismantled, and the timber was left uncut. The town was a ghost town by 1904.
The area is now covered by Kurth Lake. |
| Research Date: | JKG 9-28-93, MCJ 12-04-95 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M. Johnson |