| Alpha-Numeric Key: | SH-136 |
| Corporate Name: | J. W. H. Bird Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | Center |
| Owner Name: | J. W. H. Bird Lumber Company |
| Location: | Center |
| County: | Shelby |
| Years in Operation: | 4 years |
| Start Year: | 1905 |
| End Year: | 1908 |
| Decades: | 1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | 1905 to 1908 |
| Town: | Center |
| Company Town: | 2 |
| Peak Town Size: | 859 in 1905; 4000 in 1928; 2510 in 1934 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Oak lumber
 Sawmill |
 Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Sinclair boiler and steam engine
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 20000: 1906 |
| Capacity Comments: | 20,000 feet daily in 1906 |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Sawmill. Circulars saws, a righthand Curtis sawdog, edger, solid-tooth saws. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | In 1905, the Houston East & West Texas at Tenaha; later the Gulf Coast & Santa Fe at Center |
| Historicial Development: | Southern Industrial and Lumber Review reported that this mill was manufacturing 20,000 feet daily in 1906.
Bird was a typical Shelby sawmiller in that he was continually mortgaging his lumber and equipment for operational capital. Bird had to mortgage an amount to E. W. Pittman in order to manufacture oak lumber on Pittman's land in 1907. Later that year, he mortgaged to Dilley & Son for $120 in order to get a Curtis LeftHand 30-inch Dixie edger and two solid-tooth saws. In August of 1907, Bird mortgaged his sixteen oxen and two wagons, a Sinclair boiler and steam engine to J S K Fowler. In 1908. he bought a wagon from Lindsey Wagon Company for a $100 mortgage. J. W. H. Bird paid occupation taxes to the county and the state in March of each 1906 and 1907. The Southern Lumberman reported that this mill, at Nacogdoches, was destroyed by fire with a loss of $3,100; the report of the fire probably originated in the town of Nacogdochews. |
| Research Date: | LT 08-17-93, MCJ 04-10-96 |
| Prepared By: | L Turner, M. Johnson |