Champion Lumber Co. (1888-1917)

Pearl River & Western Railroad 

Standard Gauge 30 and 60-lb rail Headquarters: Orvisburg, MS (Pearl River County) Years of Operation: 1888-1917 Mill Capacity: 60,000 ft/day in 1917 Miles Operated: 22 in 1910 Locomotives Owned: 3	Equipment:  3 locomotives, 30 cars, and 1 Barnhart loader in 1907	Click Map for Larger Version
History by Gil Hoffman: On October 23, 1888 Henry S. Sweet and his wife Esther, sold the Champion Lumber Company 3,092 acres of timber land in the northern part of Pearl River County. The Champion Lumber Company was incorporated in Michigan and was composed of H. S. Sweet, of Detroit, MI; E. E. Orvis and D. Kennedy, both of Portland, MI, and Theodore Gunn. Sweet was president; Gunn, vice president and Orvis, secretary and treasurer. The following year, 1889, the company bought the property of the Doud-McGuire Lumber Company, of Minnesota. Apparently this purchase included a sawmill in Poplarville. Deeds to the Doud-McGuire land were not acquired until September and October of 1890.  In 1890 the Champion Lumber Company built a new circular sawmill on the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad, at Orvisburg, four miles north of Poplarville. The mill was built on land obtained from H. S. Sweet in 1888 and the mill town that grew up around it named after E. E. Orvis. This mill had a cutting capacity of 40,000 feet per day and specialized in car sills cut from longleaf yellow pine. The plant also included a planing mill, dry kilns and a large company store. Initially logging was done by ox teams, but in early 1892 four miles of standard gauge logging railroad were built. By early 1893 the company owned about 21,000 acres of timber land. The railroad was called the "Pearl River & Western Railroad" but it was never incorporated or operated as a common carrier. On October 8, 1906 the holdings were sold to the Edward Hines interests, of Chicago, but the name "Champion Lumber Company" was retained. At the time of this sale George O. Begg was president and Flint P. Smith, secretary. On August 24, 1908 the sawmill was completely destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt.  In 1917 the mill was dismantled, and Edward Hines bought a more modern mill at Lumberton from the Hinton Brothers Lumber Company. The mill site was sold to the Cecil Lumber Co., who built another mill at Orvisburg  in 1917.
		Champion Lumber Co. crews deliver logs by ox-hauled log wagons.
	A northbound NO&NE passenger train passes the Champion mill at Orvisburg.
This view at Orvisburg looks east from the mill and shows part of the town near the railroad depot. Not a single building is left today at this location.
	Another panoramic view of the Champion Lumber Co. mill looking west. The NO&NE main is on the far left.
ROSTER by Gil Hoffman:      Road No.   Type   Builder   C.N.   Date   Cyls.   Dri. Dia.   Engine Wt.   Previous Ownership   Disposition   382   20-2 Shay   Lima   382   12/1891   3-9x8   26   40000   New. Lettered “Pearl River & Western.”     Cecil Lumber Co. #1,Orvisburg, MS, in 1917. Newell Construction Co. #1, Earl, AR Opdenweyer-Alcus Cypress Co. #15, Sorrento, LA.   2   25-2 Heisler   Stearns       1900           50000   New.   Jordan River Lumber Co. #2, Kiln, MS, in 1917.   3   2-8-0   Altoona   1389   4/1889   20x24   50   114620   Pennsylvania R.R. #1318 A. V. Kaiser & Co. H. S. Kerbaugh, Inc., Bellwood, PA Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. Champion Lumber Co. #3, on 3/24/1913.   Jordan River Lumber Co. #3, Kiln, MS, in 1917. Edward Hines Yellow Pine Trustees #1, Barth, MS, in 1922.

                                     HOME                                              ABOUT  US                                              LINKS           

For more information contact Tony Howe at howe6818@bellsouth.net or David S. Price at dsprice46@bellsouth.net