| Alpha-Numeric Key: | TR-26 |
| Corporate Name: | P. Josserand and Brother Lumber Co. |
| Local Name: | |
| Owner Name: | Peter and Frank Josserand |
| Location: | Josserand, three miles east of Groveton |
| County: | Trinity |
| Years in Operation: | 28 years |
| Start Year: | 1882 |
| End Year: | 1909 |
| Decades: | 1880-1889,1890-1899,1900-1909 |
| Period of Operation: | About 1882 to about 1909 |
| Town: | Josserand |
| Company Town: | 1 |
| Peak Town Size: | 900 in ca. 1900; 589 in 1905 |
| 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: | 40000: 1893 90000: 1899 |
| Capacity Comments: | 40,000 in 1893 to 90,000 feet daily in 1899 with two mills |
| Produced: |
| Rough Lumber |
Planed Lumber |
Crossties |
Timbers |
| Lathe |
Ceiling |
Unknown |
Beading |
| Flooring |
Paper |
Plywood |
Particle Board |
| Treated |
Other |
| |
|
| Equipment: | Circular, Arkansas dry kiln two sawmills and two planers |
| Company Tram: | |
| Associated Railroads: | Trinity & Sabine (Trinity Tap) (Missouri, Kansas, & Texas) |
| Historicial Development: | Peter and Frank Josserand moved their sawmilling operations from Montgomery County to Trinity County in 1882 to take advantage of the opportunities the construction of the new Trinity & Sabine railroad offered. The Josserand brothers built their mill near the site of the the N. K. McDuffie (McDuffy) mill, and began cutting timber from a vast 60,000 acre tract near the mill. The town of Josserand soon grew up around the mill which employed as many as 250 workers, supporting a population of about 900. These numbers, of course, were probably valid after about 1888 or 1890, when the Josserand brothers acquired the McDuffy mill, giving the Josserand Brothers a total output of about 90,000 board feet per day.
Frank Josserand was thrown from a log train in 1894 and killed. Like most early East Texas sawmill operations, the Josserand sawmills used the “Arkansas” dry kilns to dry their lumber to be finished. The Arkansas kiln was a crude means of drying lumber which consisted of building a controlled, slow burning fire underneath stacks of cut lumber. The Josserand mills used twenty of these kilns in 1893.
In time the Josserand brothers owned several other sawmills in East Texas and were also business partners with J. M. West. Sawmilling at Josserand ended about 1909, when the mills were closed. |
| Research Date: | JKG 12-20-93, MCJ 02-22-96 |
| Prepared By: | J. Gerland, M Johnson |