• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Ranchers.net

The sawmill here in our small town was owned by Mr Lilly's grandad and his brothers and ran by them from the 20's up until the mid 70s when it was handed down to one of the great uncles son's. He ran it until the early 80s. Shut it down when he had changed it over from Diesel motor power to Electricity, three phase minimum on his electric bill back then was $500. So keepin it goin wasn't really an option.
Before this sawmill was moved to town, it sat on our place. There's still concrete bases in the ground that supported the engines in the pasture now. It was put into use in the 1850s when Mr Lilly's ancestors moved to Texas.
Now the 2nd cousin that has it is gonna move it out to on of the places that belonged to Mr Lilly's great great grandfather. I think what he has in mind, he's got a grandson that seems to be interested in the sawmill. Looks like maybe one day it'll get fired back up and runnin again.

I stopped by there Friday mornin and took a few pictures.


4 ft saw mill blades and a view to the back of the buildin.


control room (where grandpa sat and controlled the carriage)


I don't know what this lil thing is..but it's cute...not really all that little either...it's down at the end of the carriage.


Lookin back towards the front, where the first picture was taken.

Back in the day this was about the only sawmill around between the two towns we are between. It's about 50 miles between them. So this lil sawmill stayed real busy.

I remember hearin grandpa tell a story about the end cuts and slabs...they sold them for fire wood out of a big truck bed. They got to noticin that the wood was disappearin and weren't no one comin to buy any.....so he started goin up in the evenin and watchin from the office window. Was a colored person, comin in after dark stealin the wood. So grandpa decided he'd fix them right up. He took and bored a hole in one of the logs closest to the back of the trailer, poured it full of black powder, and plugged it with the piece of wood he'd bored out with a hole saw....plugged er up, n went home. Few days later, they heard tell of this fellas wood heater blowin up. Wern't no more wood stole from the sawmill either LOL
Top