Early Texas Sawmill
San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One-fourth mile north to site of Early Texas Sawmill Texas' first million-dollar industry - lumbering - was born to recorded history with the building of two sawmills in 1819. One, located on Ironosa Creek in present San Augustine County, was run by pioneer Wm. Ward; the other was in Nacogdoches. In 1825 yet another mill (one-fourth mi. N) was turning out about 500 board feet of lumber a day. Wm. Quirk was miller. In these times, trees were felled using an ax and a wedge. Then one end of each huge log was slung under a heavy cart and dragged to a stream or road. At the mill the logs were often stored in a mill pond, to keep them from rotting, and then they were sawed by various methods. Two primitive ones -- soon abandoned -- were pit sawing (a slow, exhausting two-man process) and the muley-mill, powered by animals. A later improvement was the sash saw, which was so nearly effortless that one old-timer claimed the attendant "could read the Bible or the ' Galveston News' while the saw was cutting". In the mid-19th century, logging served as a pivot-point for dozens of subsidiary industries; railroad building and lumbering had a strong mutual influence and the gusto of loggers' lore is still alive in the rich heritage of the Piney Woods. (1969)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Texas lumbering, the state's first million-dollar industry, entered recorded history in 1819 with two sawmills, one of them run by pioneer William Ward on a creek in what is now San Augustine County. By 1825 a nearby mill was turning out about 500 board feet a day, cutting logs felled by ax and wedge and hauled by cart to the water. From primitive pit saws and animal-powered muley mills to the labor-saving sash saw, the craft advanced steadily and became a pivot for railroads and dozens of related trades in the Piney Woods.
Why it matters
The birth of the East Texas timber industry laid the foundation for a lumbering heritage that shaped the region's economy and folklore for generations.
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Related people
- · William Ward
- · William Quirk
Themes & tags
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