Pritchard Brothers Lumber Co. 1916-1922
Batson Lumber Co. 1920-1922
Webster County Lumber Co. 1922-ca.1927
Cumberland & Northwestern Railroad
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Standard gauge, 30 and 35-lb rail Headquarters: Mill Location: Cumberland, MS (Webster County) Mill Capacity: 25,000 ft/day Years of Operation: Miles Operated: 8 miles in 1922 Locomotives Owned: |
Other Equipment:
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History by Gil Hoffman: On March 31, 1916, the Pritchard Brothers, of Columbus, Lowndes County, bought a tract of timber from J. D. McCullough near Cumberland, Webster County. By June of 1917 they had in operation at Cumberland a circular sawmill of 25,000 feet daily cutting capacity and three miles of standard gauge logging railroad. Pritchard Brothers was a co-partnership composed of H. W. and R. F. Pritchard. The firm also operated a planing mill in Columbus. On February 21, 1920, N. Batson, of Hattiesburg, MS, bought the sawmill plant and timber holdings of Pritchard Brothers, at Cumberland, Webster County, for $25,000. To operate this property, the Batson Lumber Company was incorporated at Cumberland on June 11, 1920, by N. Batson, A. Batson and S. H. Batson, all of Cumberland, with authorized capital stock of $10,000. The logging railroad was incorporated as the Cumberland & Northwestern Company on June 11, 1920, by N. Batson, W. M. Moore and S. H. Batson with capital stock of $10,000. N. Batson was president of both companies. Timber for the Cumberland mill was mostly pine with some hardwoods. The sawmill was of the circular type with a cutting capacity of 25,000 feet per day. On April 17, 1922, the sawmill plant, logging railroad and equipment, and timber holdings were sold to the T. C. Clanton Lumber Company, of Shreveport, Louisiana. Two small sawmills and a planing mill located at Mineral, Arkansas were also included in the sale. The price for the entire property was $25,000.On April 17, 1922, the T. C. Clanton Lumber Company, of Shreveport, Louisiana, purchased from the Batson Lumber Company its sawmill plant at Cumberland, Webster County, logging railroad and equipment, and timber holdings in Webster, Calhoun and Chickasaw counties. The price was $25,000 which also included two small sawmills and a planing mill in Mineral, Sevier County, Arkansas. The Cumberland mill was located on the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad. The president of the company was T. C. Clanton and the mill superintendent, in late 1924, was A. L. Slade. Although the mill was operated under the name "Webster County Lumber Company," practically the entire property was owned by the T. C. Clanton Lumber Company. On September 16, 1924, the planing mill, logging railroad and one Shay locomotive, together with all timber holdings were sold to the Bays-Slade Lumber Company, a partnership composed of F. B. Bays and A. L. Slade. F. B. Bays took over as manager of the mill. On June 16, 1925 the same property was sold to W. G. Kirkland, who became mill superintendent. He in turn sold the property to F. B. Bays on February 8, 1926. During the period 1924-1926 the sawmill remained in the hands of the T. C. Clanton Lumber Company and the plant continued to operate as the Webster County Lumber Company.
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ROSTER by Gil Hoffman:
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