Sawmill DatabaseTexas Forestry Museum

Research: Sawmill Database

Alpha-Numeric Key:

SJ-51

Corporate Name:

M. B. Pursley

Local Name:

Owner Name:

M. B. Pursley. E. J. Niederhofer.

Location:

Oakhurst

County:

San Jacinto

Years in Operation:

4 years

Start Year:

1936

End Year:

1939

Decades:

1930-1939

Period of Operation:

1936 to 1939

Town:

Oakhurst

Company Town:

Peak Town Size:

Unknown

Mill Pond:

Type of Mill:

Rough and dressed 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:

Capacity Comments:

Unknown

Produced:

Rough Lumber	Planed Lumber	Crossties	Timbers
Lathe	Ceiling	Unknown	Beading
Flooring	Paper	Plywood	Particle Board
Treated	Other

Equipment:

Sawmill and planing mill, edger, trimmer.

Company Tram:

Associated Railroads:

Unknown

Historicial Development:

E. J. Niederhofer had a sawmill at Oakhurst in 1936, according to San Jacinto County records. A mortgage that year revealed his equipment to included the sawmill, boilers, an engine, two saws, a saw mandrel, an edger, and a trimmer, all located 300 yards of Oakhurst. A mortgage reveals in 1939 he had livestock, trucks, a store and filling station at Oakhurst, underground tanks, “one sawmill complete, consisting of boilers, two st engines, planer mill, carriage and trimmer;” and he had a hundred thousand feet of lumber at his yard. A conversation with M. B. Pursley by W. T. Block revealed that Pursley bought the old Niederhofer mill at Oakhurst in the latter 1930s. It was Pursley's first experience as a sawmill owner.

Research Date:

MCJ 02-23-96

Prepared By:

M. Johnson