Site of Nix Mill
Barksdale, Edwards County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1885 - 1926) Built by John L. Nix (1842-1915) to cut rawhide lumber, grind corn and wheat, and gin cotton. Upper floor housed gin; lower, grist mill. On east side was sawmill with wood furnace and boiler to furnish steam power. Furnace was fed cedar and oak wood. Spanish oaks, white oaks, and elms from Nueces River watercourse were sawed into the rawhide lumber from which were built town's wagon yard feed stalls, a dance hall, and other structures. After Nix, successive owners were J. L. Jackson, W. D. Hutcherson, Edward Miller, Matthew Taylor, and O. C. Henderson. (1972)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built by John L. Nix (1842–1915), this mill worked from 1885 to 1926, cutting rough "rawhide" lumber, grinding corn and wheat, and ginning cotton. Its upper floor held the gin and the lower a gristmill, while a steam-powered sawmill on the east side, fed by cedar and oak, turned river-bottom timber into boards. The lumber it produced built the town's wagon yard, feed stalls, a dance hall, and other structures before the mill passed through a succession of later owners.
Why it matters
Water- and steam-powered mills like Nix's were the industrial heart of frontier towns, turning raw timber and grain into the buildings and bread of a community.
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Related people
- · John L. Nix
Themes & tags
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