Site of Kilraven
Forest, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Merchant and miller William Henry (Bill) Spinks rebuilt his sawmill near this site in 1891 after a fire destroyed his earlier venture in southwest Cherokee County. The mill occupied 20 acres of land beside the railroad called Spinks' Switch. Many employees lived near the mill in company houses. In 1900 Spinks sold his mill to the Arkansas Lumber Company, which improved milling facilities and added a boardinghouse. The village was renamed Morton when a post office was located there from 1902 to 1904. Harry C. and Allen Kiley and Alfred Craven purchased the mill in 1909, combining their names to form "Kilraven." The mill supported a community of about 250 people until it was dismantled in 1921 due to the depletion of raw materials. The town disappeared, and only the mill pond remained in the early 21st century. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Miller Bill Spinks rebuilt his sawmill here in 1891 beside a rail spur known as Spinks' Switch, and a company town of workers' houses grew up around it. New owners renamed it Kilraven in 1909 by fusing the surnames Kiley and Craven, and at its peak the mill supported some 250 people. When the surrounding timber ran out, the mill was dismantled in 1921 and the town simply vanished, leaving only a mill pond behind.
Why it matters
Kilraven is a classic East Texas lumber boomtown—born of the timber and the railroad, and gone the moment the trees were cut—one of countless communities that rose and fell with the sawmill economy.
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Related people
- · William Henry Spinks
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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