| Alpha-Numeric Key: | TR-6 |
| Corporate Name: | West Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | West Lumber Company (Continental) |
| Owner Name: | Benford Lumber Company. J. M. West, Peter Josserand, W. W. West. Lynch Davidson. Continental Lumber marketed the milled lumber and later bought out West Lumber Company. Josserand Lumber Company |
| Location: | Westville, 1.7 miles west on highway 94 from intersection of 94/287 |
| County: | Trinity |
| Years in Operation: | 22 years |
| Start Year: | 1899 |
| End Year: | 1920 |
| Decades: | 1890-1899,1900-1909,1910-1919,1920-1929 |
| Period of Operation: | Josserand, 1899; West, 1903 to 1920. |
| Town: | Westville |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | About 1000 in 1905, with more than eighty tenant houses and a commissary. |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Rough and finished 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: | 40000: 1900 75000: 1915 |
| Capacity Comments: | 40,000 feet daily in 1900; 50,000 in 1905; 75,000 in 1915 |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Circular until 1906, when rebuilt as a single band. Possible early use of “Arkansas” dry kilns. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Trinity & Sabine (Missouri Kansas &Texas) tram |
| Historicial Development: | J. M. West with Peter Josserand built this mill in 1899 and 1900 West, a native of Trinity County, began his sawmilling experience in Groveton, at the Trinity County Lumber Company mill. He was soon promoted to foreman, but left to accept the same position at Peter Josserand's sawmills, just east of Groveton. Here, West was soon promoted to supervisor, and, in 1899, he entered the manufacturing business at a point a few miles west of Groveton with his former employer, Peter Josserand. West bought out the interests of Josserand in 1903, and established the West Lumber Company for milling lumber. He joined Lynch Davidson in the Continental Lumber Company the same year in order to market his mill's cut. The mill at Westville was operated as the West Lumber Company, but its output was marketed by the Continental Lumber Company and owned by Lynch Davidson when West sold out to him.
Westville's population in 1905 was about 1,000. When a Beaumont Enterprise correspondent traveled through Westville in April 1905, he reported one standard dry kiln in use, eighty-three company-owned houses, six miles of logging tramways, a commissary, and an artificial pond. “Arkansas” smoke kilns may be been used early in the operation, for it is known that the Josserands used them at their Westville mill and probably at the mill at McDuffy's station they bought in 1893. The danger of such kilns is illustrated by the fire of September 1901 that destroyed an uninsured 50,000 feet of lumber.
A map published in 1907 places the mill to the south of the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas railroad tracks at Westville. The mill burned in 1906, and it was rebuilt as a single band mill. The mill appeared in the U.S. government's 1915 report on sawmills, but not in the 1928 issue of the Southern Lumberman's list of Texas sawmills. It is believed the mill was closed about 1920.
|
| Research Date: | JKG 12-20-93, MCJ 02-22-96 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M Johnson |