The Sawmill Industry in Orange County
Orange County's sawmill and timber industry began with hand-operated logging operations run by pioneer settlers in the 1820s. In 1835 Robert Boothe established the area's first mechanized sawmill, and in 1841 Paine & Bendy established the first steam-driven sawmill.
Cypress was the primary timber harvested until the late 1850s when the processing of native pine began. Sawmill company towns and logging camps were established throughout the county as the number of mills began to rise in the late 1870s. Increasing quantities of logs were transported by raft on the Sabine and Neches rivers to area timber operations. Many mills burned and were never rebuilt.
In the early 1900s the area's sawmill and timber industry underwent a period of consolidation and a transition from reliance on water transportation to the use of the rapidly expanding railroad network. By 1909 the Miller Lind, A. E. Smith Cypress, and Lutcher & Moore's upper and lower mills dominated the area's timber industry. By 1931, however, the last of these four mills, the Lutcher & Moore upper mill, had closed.
For more than 100 years the sawmill and timber industry's company towns, logging camps, and transportation system helped define Orange County life.
Erected 1995 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 11514.)
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 30° 5.462′ N, 93° 43.86′ W. Marker is in Orange, Texas, in Orange County. Marker is on West Front Street east of Second Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Orange TX 77630, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Old Niblett's Bluff, C.S.A. (here, next to this marker); Dr. William Hewson and Dr. David Caldwell Hewson (here, next to this marker); John Harmon (here, next to this marker); Atakapan Indians of Orange County (here, next to this marker); George Alexander Pattillo (here, next to this marker); Site Of End Of The Line Station (here, next to this marker); Hugh Ochiltree (here, next to this marker); American Legion Post 49 Memorial (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orange.
More about this marker. Located in the Ochiltree Inman Park
Credits. This page was last revised on April 21, 2018. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 288 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 21, 2018.
