Research: Sawmill Database

Alpha-Numeric Key: SH-59
Corporate Name: E. L. Bruce Company
Local Name:
Owner Name: E. L. Bruce Company. Atlas Plywood Company. 1969: Robert O'Donoghue, vice president.
Location: Center
County: Shelby
Years in Operation: 17 years
Start Year: 1953
End Year: 1969
Decades: 1950-1959,1960-1969
Period of Operation: 1953 to 1969
Town: Center
Company Town: 2
Peak Town Size: 4,323 in Census of 1950
Mill Pond:
Type of Mill: 1958: all-oak block flooring and plywood flush doors. 1969: lumber and plywood products.
Sawmill Pine Sawmill Hardwood Sawmill Cypress Sawmill
Planer Planer Only Shingle Paper
Plywood Cotton Grist Unknown
Other
Power Source: Unknown
Horse Mule Oxen Water
Water Overshot Water Turbine Diesel Unknown
Pit Steam Steam Circular Steam Band
Gas Electricity Other
Maximum Capacity: 
Capacity Comments: Unknown
Produced:
Rough Lumber Planed Lumber Crossties Timbers
Lathe Ceiling Unknown Beading
Flooring Paper Plywood Particle Board
Treated Other
Equipment: Plywood mill
Company Tram:
Associated Railroads: Unknown
Historicial Development: The Directory of Texas Manufacturers, 1956-1958 lists the plant of the Atlas Plywood Corporation at Center. Established in 1953 and employing more than 250 personnel, the plant was producing plywood panels and flush doors in 1956. The E. L. Bruce Company, a hardwood flooring manufacture of Memphis, Tennessee, bought the Atlas Plywood Company plant at Center in 1957, according to The Texas Forest News. The sale involved transfer of a twenty-acre site, a 100,000 square factory, several buildings and a warehouse, and machinery for manufacturing hardwood plywood. E. L. Bruce Company contacted the TFPMA in 1969 concerning the feasibility of finding a burner that would dispose of wood waste in accordance with the standards of the Texas Air Control Board. The company's application for membership, dated November 14, 1969, reveals that Robert O'Donoghue was vice president and that the mill was producing lumber and plywood products.
Research Date: MCJ 02-29-96
Prepared By: M. Johnson