| Alpha-Numeric Key: | CH-24 |
| Corporate Name: | Z. W. Cannon |
| Local Name: | Stephens Mill |
| Owner Name: | Wallisville Lumber Company, W. E. Stephens. Z. W. Cannon. |
| Location: | Three miles below Wallisville |
| County: | Chambers |
| Years in Operation: | 10 years |
| Start Year: | 1895 |
| End Year: | 1904 |
| Decades: | 1890-1899,1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | 1895 to 1904 |
| Town: | Three miles below Wallisville |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 128 in 1905 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Dressed and undressed 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: 1896 |
| 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 with edger, cutoff saw, a planer and dry kilns |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | At Liberty: Texas & New Orleans |
| Historicial Development: | Wallisville Lumber Company, prior to C. R. Cummings centralization of his export company at Wallisville, was the major lumber power at Wallisville in the 1890s. In 1896, the Company put a boom on the river next to the mill. During the summer of 1898, the mill was working ten hours a day, being supplied by water and local farmers. According to Pearson et al., the Wallisville Lumber Company advertised in June 1898 that it was a manufacturer and dealer in undressed and dressed pine, cypress, and ash. By the nature of its advertising, the mill probably dry kilns and a planer. The American Lumberman noted in 1900 that the Wallasville Lumber Company of W. E Stephens was reported to be out of business. The American Lumberman noted that in 1901 the Wallisville Lumber Company was succeeded by Z. W. Cannon.
No record exists of its demise, but it was not listed in the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1905 edition.
The business remained small through 1900: only forty-four workers in the county were listed as lumberman. With the Stephens Mill, John Cook's mill, and the Kilgore & Beckwith mill competing for mill hands, all of the mills were small by necessity and certainly did not do their own logging. |
| Research Date: | MCJ 04-15-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |