| Alpha-Numeric Key: | JA-2 |
| Corporate Name: | Angelina County Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Wilson & Applegate. Alexander Gilmer Lumber Company. Frost Lumber Company. Jasper County Lumber Company. Kurth Lumber Company: 1947, J. H. Kurth; Simon W. Henderson, Jr. and Dave W. Thompson. |
| Location: | 663 South Wheeler, Jasper |
| County: | Jasper |
| Years in Operation: | 51 years |
| Start Year: | 1909 |
| End Year: | 1959 |
| Decades: | 1900-1909,1910-1919,1920-1929,1930-1939,1940-1949,1950-1959 |
| Period of Operation: | Incorporated in 1905; operational, 1909 to 1959 |
| Town: | Jasper |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | Unknown |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | 1928: Combination hardwood and pine; timbers, furniture, and vehicle dimension stock. 1957: Cypress and pine products.
| Sawmill |
Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
 Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Steam. Electric: 1952.
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 50000: 1909 150000: 1928 |
| Capacity Comments: | 50,000 to 100,000 daily feet within the first twelve months. 150,000 in 1928. |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | 1910: band and single circular, with single headrigs at each end, dry kilns, planing mills. 1928: band and circular sawmill, planing mills, dry kilns, logging road, box factory. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe. Company tram road. |
| Historicial Development: | This sawmill site had a long and eventful history, lasting more than fifty years. Incorporated as the Jasper County Lumber Company, in February 1905, probably by W. W. Wilson and H. D. Applegate, whose Ohio & Texas Lumber Company mill operated at Applegate, just north of Roganville, the mill at Jasper probably was not built because of owners' financial difficulties leading to the closing of the Applegate mill.
The Alexander Gilmer Lumber Company built the Jasper sawmill in 1909, possibly buying the company name from Wilson and Applegate. The company was supposed to bring “a complete waterworks and electric light system and other modern conveniences that are denied some other cities of much larger population.” The citizens of Jasper assured Gilmer they would not incorporate the community in order to tax the company, which promise they quickly attempted to renege on and failed. By 1910, the mill had doubled its production capacity. A Gilmer peculiarity, the mill operated with headrigs at each end of the mill (a band and a circular). A mill pond was used for storing pine logs only. Hardwoods were also cut, probably on the band saw.
The Frost Lumber Company acquired this mill from the Gilmer company in 1923, in order to cut second growth pine and hardwood forests. The mill continued to operate under the name of the Jasper County Lumber Company. More than two decades later, Frost Lumber Industries of Texas sold the mill to J. H. Kurth of Angelina Lumber Company on December 28, 1946. J. H. Kurth named Paul Hursey, an industrial forester and long-time Kurth employee, the new manager, and announced the employees would receive a pay raise in early 1947. The timber would be “cut on a selective basis,” so that the resource would be permanent. The company was using a horizontal resaw in 1947. The mill was electrified in 1952. In June, 1959, a fire destroyed the sawmill. It was not rebuilt.
|
| Research Date: | JKG 9-1-93, MCJ 12-07-95 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M. Johnson |