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Burke Lumber Company (AG-001)
| sawmill id: | 9331 |
| alpha-numeric key: | AG-001 |
| corporate name: | Burke Lumber Company |
| local name: | Burke Lumber Company |
| owner affiliation: | T. J. and S. J. Treadwell with Burke Lumber Company |
| location: | West of Burke at intersection of 63 and 63A |
| county: | Angelina |
| years in operation: | 29 |
| start year: | 1892 |
| (qual) | |
| end year: | 1920 |
| (qual) | * |
| decades: | 1890-1899 1900-1909 1910-1919 1920-1929 |
| period of operation: | Probably built in 1891 or 1892 and may have operated into the 1920s. |
| town: | Burke |
| company town: | Yes |
| peak town size: | Unknown |
| mill pond: | ? |
| type of mill: | Lumber. |
| sawmill: | Yes |
| 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: | |
| pit: | |
| steam: | Yes |
| steam circular: | |
| steam band: | |
| gas: | |
| diesel: | |
| electric: | |
| other: | |
| unknown: | |
| maximum capacity: | 2000: 1893 |
| (qual) | |
| capacity comments: | 20,000 feet of lumber in 1893 |
| rough lumber: | Yes |
| planed lumber: | |
| crossties: | |
| timbers: | |
| lathe: | |
| ceiling: | |
| unknown: | |
| beading: | |
| flooring: | |
| paper: | |
| plywood: | |
| particle board: | |
| treated: | |
| other: | |
| equipment: | Sawmill |
| company tram: | ? |
| associated railroads: | Houston East & West Texas |
| historical development: | The Treadwells were buying in Burke in 1886; that year S. J. and S. E. Treadwell bought a lot in town from H. Belote. In 1891, T. J. and S. J. Treadwell purchased blocks in the Antonio Chevans grant to the south, along the tracks of the Houston East and West Texas. They probably built their mill in Burke during that year. It appeared in the Galveston Weekly News in 1893 as cutting 20,000 board feet a day. The family continued to grow in importance in the town. Besides the mill, the Treadwells owned a company storehouse and general mercantile in Burke, located just opposite and east of the Houston East and West Texas depot. |
| research date: | JKG 12-29-93, MCJ 12-04-95 |
| research by: | J. Gerland, M. Johnson |
| historical interpretation: | Burke allegedly had three sawmills in 1885, one in 1886, one 1897, and none in 1915. The Handbook of Texas notes that in 1885 the community had, with a population of five, three sawmills, three cotton gins, a church, and a school. The Land of the Little Angel recorded that Burke Lumber Company had been cutting at Chambers, Vaughn, and Belote between 1886 and 1895. By 1915, no sawmills allegedly existed at Burke, which then had a population of 200. The Burke Lumber Company mill possibly operated into the 1920s, for records show that T.J. Treadwell sold Burke Lumber Company lands, including mention of a mill, to Southern Pine Lumber Company sometime between May 21, 1923 and June 25, 1923. No record of the existence of a planer or of a company tram road exists. |
| interpretation by: | M. Johnson |
| interpretation date: | MCJ 12-04-95 |
| bibliography: | ?Timbered Texas.? (Galveston) Weekly News. April 13, 1893. Angelina County Deed Records. Vol O: August 16, 1886, 457; S: February 20, 1891, 221; S: June 17, 1891, 349; X: July 9, 1896, 111; 58: 413. Vol. 90: 313, 340. Angelina County Deeds of Trust Records. Vol C: April 5, 1897, 479; April 20, 1897, 487. Walter P. Webb, editor-in-chief. Handbook of Texas 3 vols. Austin: The University of Texas, 1952-1976. I, 248. Angelina County Historical Survey Committee. Land of the Little Angel: A History of Angelina County, Texas. Ed., Bob Bowman. Lufkin: Lufkin Printing Company, 1976. 98. Temple Lumber Company Records, Box 4. East Texas Research Center. Stephen F. Austin State University. Nacogdoches, Texas. |
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