Sawmill DatabaseTexas Forestry Museum

Research: Sawmill Database

Alpha-Numeric Key:

HA-119

Corporate Name:

W. S. Rush

Local Name:

Owner Name:

W. S. Rush. Ruff lists him as W. S. Rust.

Location:

Hallsville or Precinct 4

County:

Harrison

Years in Operation:

2 years

Start Year:

1879

End Year:

1880

Decades:

1870-1879,1880-1889

Period of Operation:

1879 to 1880

Town:

Hallsville

Company Town:

Peak Town Size:

Unknown

Mill Pond:

Type of Mill:

Lumber

Sawmill	Pine Sawmill	Hardwood Sawmill	Cypress Sawmill
Planer	Planer Only	Shingle	Paper
Plywood	Cotton	Grist	Unknown
Other

Power Source:

30-horsepower steam engine

Horse	Mule	Oxen	Water
Water Overshot	Water Turbine	Diesel	Unknown
Pit	Steam	Steam Circular	Steam Band
Gas	Electricity	Other

Maximum Capacity:

Capacity Comments:

1,500,000 feet of lumber during the reporting period of the Census

Produced:

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

Equipment:

A muley and circular sawmill

Company Tram:

Associated Railroads:

Texas & Pacific

Historicial Development:

The W. S. Rush sawmill was listed in an 1880 Chicago lumberman directory but not in an 1884 railroad listing. The Manuscript Census of 1880, reporting for June 1, 1879 to May 31, 1880, detailed the business operations of the sawmill. The sawmill, d a capital value of $2.50, employed twelve men, one child, and one woman. The employees received daily wages of $1.25 to $1.50 for nine hour days in the winters and eleven hour days in the summer. Rush paid a total wage of $3,000. From a total value of $8,000 of supplies and sawlogs, the sawmill manufactured 1,500,00 feet of lumber, worth a gross value of $15,000. The sawmill worked nine of the twelve months during the reporting period. Harrison County, Texas, Caucasian Residents in 1880 lists W. S. Rust, living at Hallsville, as a “lumber mfgr.”

Research Date:

MCJ 02-05-96

Prepared By:

M. Johnson