History
by Gil Hoffman:
Lauderdale
Mill
On
November 20, 1903 J. E. Tartt bought a tract of timber lying generally
northwest of Lauderdale, around Ponta Creek, from Jim D. Miller and built a
sawmill at Lauderdale, on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. The cutting
capacity of this mill was 20,000 feet per day. By 1906 he had 3½ miles of
logging railroad in operation.
The
operation was incorporated at Lauderdale on March 11, 1909 as the J. E.
Tartt Lumber Company by J. E. Tartt, of Lauderdale; Jim Miller, of Meridian,
and R. E. Wilbourn, of Meridian, with authorized capital stock of $30,000.
J.
E. Tartt was president and Jim Miller, secretary. Two other mills were in
operation at that time, "Mill No. 3" located about 3½ miles
southeast of Lauderdale and the other, known as "Mill No. 2," at
an unknown location in Lauderdale County.
Tartt's
logging railroad was known as the "Lauderdale & Northwestern
Railroad" and in mid-1908 was projected to run from Lauderdale to
Kemper Springs, 8 miles.
The
sawmills at Lauderdale cut out in September 1913. In August 1915 the
Lauderdale mill was sold to the J. L. Hart Lumber Company, of Meridian.
Narkeeta
Mill
On
February 10, 1913, J. F. Mars and J. E. Tartt purchased the assets of the
bankrupt Flood-Lyons Lumber Company from W. C. Sams, trustee in bankruptcy,
for $7,572. The purchase included a planing mill, dry kiln and portable
sawmill in Narkeeta, on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, a sawmill five miles
east of Narkeeta, on the Alabama line, logging railroad and equipment and
timber lands east of Narkeeta. That same day Tartt bought the interest of
Mars for $7,072.
The
Flood-Lyons property had been purchased in late 1910 at a bankruptcy sale by
the American Hardwood Lumber Company, of St. Louis, Missouri, but this sale
was never confirmed, which made a second sale necessary - this time to Mars
and Tartt.
On
December 28, 1921, Tartt sold the mill at Narkeeta to the newly formed
Sucarnochee Lumber Company in which he was a large stockholder.
Akron
Mill
In
January 1913, J. E. Tartt bought a tract of timber around Akron, Kemper
County, and in July 1917 put into operation at Akron a sawmill with a
cutting capacity of 25,000 feet per day. Akron was located eight miles east
of DeKalb, on the DeKalb & Western Railroad. This mill cut shortleaf
pine.
On
December 28, 1921, the mill property was sold to the Sucarnochee Lumber
Company, in return for 480 shares of stock in the company to J. E. Tartt.
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ROSTER by Gil Hoffman:
Lauderdale:
(a)
Rod
Porter
32000
Purchased secondhand.
For sale
9-1910.
(b)
Class B
Climax
1037
-1910
40000
Purchased new.
Transferred
to Akron, MS, by 1917.
Narkeeta:
594
Class B
Climax
594
-1906
40000
Purchased
from Flood-Lyons Lumber Co. #594, Narkeeta, MS, on 2-10-13.
Built as Mayerhoff Brothers #
, Arundel, MS; to Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co., Birmingham,
AL; to Flood-Lyons Lumber Co. #594, Narkeeta, MS, on 1-25-10.
Transferred
to Tartt mill at Akron, MS, probably in 1917.
Akron:
594
Class B
Climax
594
-1906
40000
Transferred
from Tartt mill at Narkeeta, MS.
Sold to Southern Iron & Equipment Co. #1659,
Atlanta, GA; to Barr-Holaday Lumber Co., Louise, MS, on 1-22-21.
?
Class B
Climax
1037
-1910
40000
Transferred
from Lauderdale, Miss.
Traded to Southern Iron & Equipment Co. #1655,
Atlanta, GA, on 1-26-21 as part payment on Lima c/n 243; to George F.
& James W. Hart #1, Sandy Hook, MS, on 1-18-22. Scrapped 1943.
?
2T Shay
Lima
243
7-1889
28
3-10x10
60000
Purchased
from Southern Iron & Equipment Co. #1649, Atlanta, GA, on 1-26-21.
Built
as McClelland & Kane #1, Kushequa, PA; to Mt. Jewett, Kinzua &
Riterville #1 "Dan Fenton,"
Kushequa,
PA to Raine & Raine #1, Rainesville, PA, in 1892; to F. L. Sanford,
Zona, LA; to Southern Iron & Equipment Co. #1649.
Apparently
unsatisfactory - returned to Southern Iron & Equipment Co. #1809,
Atlanta, GA; to Tishomingo Land & Lumber Co. #1, Tishomingo, MS, on
4-17-24.
?
2T Shay
Lima
2238
10-1909
26½
3-8x10
56000
Purchased
from Pittsburgh Equipment Co., Pittsburgh, PA, about 8-1921.
Built as Three Forks Coal Mining Co. #3, Chaffee, WV (42
inch gauge); to Chaffee Coal Co. #3, Chaffee, WV (changed to standard
gauge in 1913); to Pittsburgh Equipment Co.
Sold to Sucarnochee Lumber Co. #3, Narkeeta, MS, on
12-28-21, transferred to Keysville, MS, in 1926.
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