| Alpha-Numeric Key: | HR-25 |
| Corporate Name: | C. Bender and Sons |
| Local Name: | Bender and Sons |
| Owner Name: | Bender & Sons: Charles Bender; Charles Bender, Jr.; Albert Bender; Eugene Bender; Frank Bender. |
| Location: | Houston |
| County: | Harris |
| Years in Operation: | 17 years |
| Start Year: | 1890 |
| End Year: | 1906 |
| Decades: | 1890-1899,1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | 1890 to at least 1906 |
| Town: | Houston |
| Company Town: | 2 |
| Peak Town Size: | 46,639 in 1905 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Rough and finished lumber, shingles, moldings, sash, blinds
 Sawmill |
 Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Steam engine and boiler
| 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: | A complete lumber mill with planing mill (in 1906, two Woods #24 fast feed planers and matchers) and dry kilns |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | International and Great Northern; Houston East and West Texas |
| Historicial Development: | C. Bender and Sons was a Houston-based lumber mill company with mills at Houston, Humble, and Holshausen (later Laurelia) in Polk County along the roadway of the Houston East & West Texas. In Houston, their two-block plant contained a mill with sixteen planing machines, a boiler house, and other buildings. Almost 200 workers handled half a million feet monthly. In 1894, Charles Bender, Jr., supervised this operation.
While listed in Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1905 , it is not listed in the “Lumber Mills of Texas,” Southern Industrial and Lumber Review, of September 6, 1906. The family either closed or sold the Houston mill and concentrated the milling effort at the plants at Humble and Laurelia. |
| Research Date: | MCJ 05-06-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |