| Alpha-Numeric Key: | LI-68 |
| Corporate Name: | Oatman Brothers Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | Oatman Brothers |
| Owner Name: | Oatman Brothers |
| Location: | In Liberty, west bank of the Trinity, on Ferry Lot 6 just north of the T&NO. |
| County: | Liberty |
| Years in Operation: | 3 years |
| Start Year: | 1902 |
| End Year: | 1904 |
| Decades: | 1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | 1902 to 1903 |
| Town: | Liberty |
| Company Town: | 2 |
| 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: | Steam
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 20000: 1902 |
| Capacity Comments: | 20,000 feet daily |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Sawmill |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Texas & New Orleans Railroad |
| Historicial Development: | This mill appears to have suffered a series of misfortunes and delays. Dr. Oatman of Austin appeared before Liberty's City Council on August 2, 1902 and was given 25 acres of land for a mill site, promising a 20,000 feet daily capacity and a payroll projected to be $1,000 to $1,500 per month. A council resolution of September 2, 1902, formalized the action of the month before. Construction of the mill and a railroad spur began later that fall. Heavy rains and floods, however, hampered the mill from coming on line. One rain in November dropped eighteen inches, causing the river to rise and the site to flood. In its short history, the Company secured only one deed for timber, from a Mr. C. M. Rice. The sawmill was reported to “be in first class condition” and was run for a short period of time “just to see how everything worked.” By mid-August of 1903, problems bedeviled the company to the point that it was forced to sell every log it had been holding in the boom on the river for the previous three months.
The sawmill machinery was reported to have been shipped from Liberty to Louisiana in 1904. |
| Research Date: | JKG 12-14-93, MCJ 03-14-96 |
| Prepared By: | J Gerland, M Johnson |