| Alpha-Numeric Key: | SH-86 |
| Corporate Name: | Hicks Brothers |
| Local Name: | Queen of the South |
| Owner Name: | Hicks Brothers. T. J. Oliver. |
| Location: | Just east of Tenaha |
| County: | Shelby |
| Years in Operation: | 21 years |
| Start Year: | 1882 |
| End Year: | 1902 |
| Decades: | 1880-1889,1890-1899,1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | 1882 to 1902 |
| Town: | Probably Tenaha |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | Unknown |
| Mill Pond: |  |
| Type of Mill: | Rough and finished lumber and cotton
 Sawmill |
Pine Sawmill |
 Hardwood Sawmill |
Cypress Sawmill |
| Planer |
Planer Only |
Shingle |
Paper |
| Plywood |
Cotton |
Grist |
Unknown |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
| Power Source: | Probably steam
| Horse |
Mule |
Oxen |
Water |
| Water Overshot |
Water Turbine |
Diesel |
Unknown |
| Pit |
Steam |
Steam Circular |
Steam Band |
| Gas |
Electricity |
Other |
|
|
| Maximum Capacity: | 30000: 1893 |
| Capacity Comments: | 30,000 feet in 1893 |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Sawmill, cotton gin and press, planing mill |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Houston East and West Texas, and the Gulf, Beaumont, & Santa Fe intersect here |
| Historicial Development: | Hicks Brothers foreclosed on the “Queen of the South” lumber mill belonging to T. J. Oliver for failure to discharge a debt in 1889. The site included a cotton press, cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, an engine, and a boiler. By 1891, Hicks Brothers funded a mortgage on lumber property for Bryan Brothers of Tenaha: a Cushman sawmill, logging cars, one wagon, and eight oxen. Hicks Brothers were listed in the Galveston Weekly News, on April 13, 1893, as sawing 30,000 feet daily. On September 5, 1896, the Brothers sold lumber worth $2,000 to M. T. Jones Lumber Company of Houston.
The History of Shelby County noted that E. S. and C. B. Hicks gave land to the Houston East and West Texas during the early 1880s to entice the railroad to establish a depot where the town [of Tenaha] was to be laid out. In 1885, the sawmill and a commissary was built just east of the present townsite. The planing mill was erected in 1892. |
| Research Date: | MCJ 02-29-96 |
| Prepared By: | M. Johnson |