| Alpha-Numeric Key: | HD-37 |
| Corporate Name: | Kirby Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | Honey Island |
| Owner Name: | R. A. Myer Lumber Company, the Sabine Lumber Company of St Louis. Kirby Lumber Company in 1928; bought by Santa Fe in 1936. |
| Location: | Honey Island. Not to be confused with locations in Fannin County. |
| County: | Hardin |
| Years in Operation: | 41 years |
| Start Year: | 1914 |
| End Year: | 1954 |
| Decades: | 1910-1919,1920-1929,1930-1939,1940-1949,1950-1959 |
| Period of Operation: | 1914 to 1954 (Operations transferred to new Silsbee plant) |
| Town: | Honey Island |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 100 in 1928; 600 in 1934 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Longleaf yellow pine
| 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: | 100000: 1928 88000: 1951 (two shifts) |
| Capacity Comments: | 100,000 feet daily in 1928 under Myer. |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | 1928: Band sawmill, gang, planing mill, edgers, trimmers, dry kilns, under Myer. Kirby added a gang saw. 1951: band head rig, band saw, and five dry kilns. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe |
| Historicial Development: | The Gulf Coast Lumberman noted on April 1, 1914, that the R. A. Myer Lumber Company facility at Honey Island was in operation. In February 1920, R. A. Myers contracted Lufkin Foundry & Machinery for machinery and improvements to its two-story lumber mill at Honey Island. The company operated a tram. Shortly before the Kirby Lumber Company purchase of the site, a fire destroyed the yards, sheds, and kilns. Kirby Lumber Company acquired the mill in either late 1928 or early 1929 “from J. W. Reynolds and associates, known as the R. A. Myer Lumber Company.” Upon purchase of the facility, Kirby Lumber modernized the plant and equipped it with a single band and gang, a planing mill, and kilns. Production resumed in February, 1929, under F. E. Tuxworth, its new manager. In 1947, the Kirby Lumber Company reported the mill at Honey Island had a non-compensable accident record of 2,260 days. In 1951, the sawmill used one band head rig and one gang saw with a combined output hourly of 5,500 board feet, producing 2,000,000 feet monthly on two eight-hour shifts, five days a week. Inventory included five cross-circulation kilns. Storage capacity existed for six million feet. The mill operated until 1954, when its operations were transferred to the new Silsbee plant.
|
| Research Date: | MCJ 03-13-96 |
| Prepared By: | L Turner, M Johnson |