Early Texas Sawmill
N 31° 31.870 W 094° 07.000
15R E 393989 N 3489011
The state historic marker at the location of an early Texas sawmill west of downtown San Augustine
Waymark Code: WMXEH9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/02/2018
Views: 2
This state historic marker is located in a small pullout along West Columbia Street and Ironosa Creek, just west of the railroad tracks, near the official visitors Welcome Center.
Marker Number: 7611
Marker Text:
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)
Incise on base:
Dedicated to sawmill industry by the Texas Forestry Association
On the 150th anniversary of sawmilling in Texas
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.