Mason Lumber Co.
36" gauge, 30 & 35-lb rail Headquarters: Mill Location: Gandsi, MS (Covington County) Mill Capacity: 60,000 ft/day Years of Operation: 1901-1910 Miles Operated: 8.5 miles Locomotives Owned: 4 |
Equipment: 1 Decker loader, 22 log cars, 1 tank car. |
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History by Gil Hoffman: R.
T. Sleeper & Company, of Ellsworth, Michigan, moved their sawmill from
Michigan to North Seminary, MS, with operations commencing in December 1901.
The cutting capacity was 25,000 feet per day. To operate this mill, the
Mason Lumber Company was incorporated at Seminary, Covington County, on July
15, 1902 by H. Louis Lehmann, R. T. Sleeper and J. W. Post with authorized
capital stock of $30,000. The name "Mason" was adopted by Mr. Post
because it was the name of his home town - Mason, Michigan. In
1902 Frank E. Park, of Mish, MS, bought the Mason Lumber Company from
Sleeper and Post. Mr. Park, who took over as president and general manager,
had the mill town name changed to "Gandsi," the acronym for
"Gulf & Ship Island." Soon after Park took over the plant he
built a new mill with a cutting capacity of 60,000 feet of longleaf yellow
pine in 10 hours. Between 150 and 200 men was employed. Stockholders in the
company were Frank E. Park, his brother Ray L. Park and Rhoda Dixon, a
cousin of J. S. Butterfield. In April 1909 the company sold 28,000,000 feet of standing timber and 3,500 acres of cut-over land to the W. C. Wood Lumber Company, of Collins, MS. In 1910 the mill machinery at Gandsi and logging equipment were moved to Reform, AL, where Mr. Park and F. H. Lathrop organized the Lathrop-Park Lumber Company.
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ROSTER by Gil Hoffman: ? 2T Shay Lima 613 6-1900 26 2-7x12 26000 Purchased from R. S. Phillips Lumber Co. #2 "Mollie," Blackburn, MS, on 5-21-03. Gone by 1-1907. ? 2T Heisler Stearns 1032 -1899 30 12x10 40000 Purchased through Goodman & Wright, Cincinnati, OH, on 4-28-05. See Note 1. Sold to Lathrop-Park Lumber Co., Reform, AL, by 3-1910; to Lathrop Lumber Co. #2, Reform, AL, on 9-15-11. ? Class B Climax 11-1906 64000 Purchased new. See Note 2. Sold to Lathrop-Park Lumber Co., Reform, AL, in 1910; to Lathrop Lumber Co. #1, Reform, AL, on 9-15-11. ? 2-6-0 Baldwin 13755 9-1893 37 13x18 49000 Purchased from Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co., Birmingham, AL, on 9-27-07. Built as Southern States Land & Timber Co. #3, Pensacola, FL; to Southern States Lumber Co. #3, Pensacola, FL; to Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. Sold to Lathrop-Park Lumber Co., Reform, AL, in 1910; to Lathrop Lumber Co., Lathrop, AL, on 9-15-11. Baldwin class 8-20 D 91 Note 1 Goodman & Wright, of Cincinnati, Ohio, were the general distributing agents for the lumber produced by the Mason Lumber Company.
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For more information contact Tony Howe at howe6818@bellsouth.net or David S. Price at dsprice46@bellsouth.net