| Alpha-Numeric Key: | MO-79 |
| Corporate Name: | Foster Lumber Company. |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Foster Lumber Company. Texas Tie & Lumber Company. Texas Lumber Tie & Timber Company. Cline & Oliphint Lumber Company. |
| Location: | Fostoria (Clinesburg), about fifteen miles east of Conroe |
| County: | Montgomery |
| Years in Operation: | 65 years |
| Start Year: | 1893 |
| End Year: | 1957 |
| Decades: | 1890-1899,1900-1909,1910-1919,1920-1929,1930-1939,1940-1949,1950-1959, |
| Period of Operation: | Cline, 1893; Texas Tie, 1897; Foster Lumber, 1904 to 1957 |
| Town: | Fostoria (Clinesburg) |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 200 in 1928; 150 in 1934; 700 in 1957 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | All types of rough and finished lumber.
| Sawmill |
 Pine Sawmill |
Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | 1904: 24-inch by 28-inch Wilkes slide-valve steam engine with four boilers and two pumps.
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 150000: 1906 |
| Capacity Comments: | 150,000 feet daily of lumber |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Double band; earlier, Sawmill and planing mill. Cut-off saw, Allis saw headrig (1902- 1904). One 9 foot Allis band saw headrig) 1928: Band sawmill, planing mill, edgers, trimmers, dry kilns, electric light plant. |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Santa Fe 25 miles of tram road |
| Historicial Development: | Cline & Oliphint Lumber Company (1893), Texas Lumber Tie & Timber Company (about 1897), and Foster Lumber Company (1901 to 1957) operated this site. On January 1, 1901, Texas Lumber Tie & Timber sold its planing mill to Foster Lumber Company, which had been ready to build one, and and its sawmill to Texas Tie & Lumber Company. Texas Tie & Lumber Company greatly expanded its logging operations, converting the tram operation from animals and wood to machinery and steel. By 1904, Foster had acquired the entire plant and tram of Texas Tie & Timber by sheriff sale. Foster Lumber was often noted as Trinity River Lumber Company, a division of Foster. The town name of Clinesburg was changed to Fostoria in 1905 when the Foster Lumber Company began rebuilding its mill plant. Ben Foster had to go to federal court in 1905 to evict squatters from his timber land in Montgomery County. It cost around $700,000 to construct, and began operating in early 1906 at 150,000 board feet per day. For its size it was acclaimed as “the fastest mill in the South.” By 1924, the plant was cutting second growth stumpage, and the machinery of the short side of the pine mill was used to build a hardwood mill, supplied by timber from San Jacinto and Liberty counties. Trinity River Lumber Company handled sales in 1934. The hardwood mill was dismantled in 1930 and the machinery was reinstalled in the main mill once again. The mill closed in 1957 to avoid cutting completely the remaining timber holdings of the Foster companies. Population at closing was 700.
|
| Research Date: | JKG 9-23-93, MCJ 03-19-96 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M. Johnson |