| Alpha-Numeric Key: | OR-33 |
| Corporate Name: | Orange Lumber Company |
| Local Name: | Orange Lumber |
| Owner Name: | Orange Lumber Company with M. T. Jones and John McKinnon. McKinnon & Van Meter. McKinnon, Jackson, Downs. By 1908, in the portfolio of J. M. West. |
| Location: | Orange, on the Sabine River |
| County: | Orange |
| Years in Operation: | 45 years |
| Start Year: | 1876 |
| End Year: | 1920 |
| Decades: | 1870-1879,1880-1889,1890-1899,1900-1909,1910-1919,1920-1929 |
| Period of Operation: | 1876 to about 1920 |
| Town: | Orange |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 7000 in 1906; 17000 in 1928 |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Rough and finished 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: 1880 40000: 1885 80000: 1893 90000: 1904 200000: 1908 |
| Capacity Comments: | 40,000 feet daily (under McKinnon ownership); 80,000 in 1893; 90,000 (about 1904); 200,000 (by 1908 as double band) |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | 1880: 1 4-gang saw, two circular saws; later planers; Dec 1905: two Filer and Stowell band saws |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Orange & Northwestern Rwy. Texas & New Orleans Rwy. |
| Historicial Development: | This mill was originally built by John McKinnon, Jackson and Downs in 1876 on the old site of the Brazee & Woods lumber plant, in which Alexander Gilmer had an interest. McKinnon acquired the interests of Jackson and Downs in 1879, and gradually increased the cutting capacity to 40,000 feet per day. The 1880 Census revealed that the mill had a d capitalization of $35,000. An average of twenty-five employees worked eleven hours daily during the summer and nine during the winter. The company paid $10,000 in wages (skilled/$3.50; unskilled$1.50). During the reporting period, the mill operated fulltime for the entire year. Cypress logs valued at $31,000 and supplies of $500 contributed to a production of two million shingles and five million feet of lumber. M. T. Jones Lumber Company bought its sawlogs. B. F. Van Meter had a share with McKinnon by 1882, according to a San Augustine County record. The mill became the property of the Orange Lumber Company, a joint stock company composed of McKinnon and M.T. Jones, in 1888. All shingle making ceased. By 1891, M. T. Jones Lumber Company had gained the controlling interest. In 1894, Carl F. Pannewitz managed both mills for M. T. Jones (the Orange Lumber and the Wingate mills). The mill began running two shifts after 1900. By 1904 the single circular saw sawmill was cutting a reported 90,000 feet per day. Sometime in late 1904 or early 1905, this mill was destroyed by fire and was soon rebuilt as a double band mill which was rated at 200,000 feet per day. The new mill's completion was heralded in the Southern Industrial and Lumber Review as “one of the most remarkable reconstructions in the history of saw mills in Texas.” It continued producing through the years of WWI, and shortly after the war burned down for the final time. It was not rebuilt. The location of this mill (and others) in 1896 can be located on a Sanborn-Perris map, which has been annotated by Howard C. Williams.
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| Research Date: | JKG 9-30-93, MCJ 03-24-96 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland & M. Johnson |