History of the forest products industry here
The history of the timber and lumber industry in Upshur County, Texas, tracks the broader evolution of the East Texas Piney Woods—moving from small-scale pioneer survival tools to a full-scale industrial boom, and eventually transitioning into sustainable modern forestry.
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Pioneer Era and Early Settlement (1840s–1870s)
Before the arrival of industrialized sawmills, timber in Upshur County was primarily a tool for land clearing and basic construction.
Early Processing: Settlers built log homes using broadaxes and foot adzes to hand-square virgin pine and hardwood timber.
Water & Steam Sash Mills: By the late 1840s and 1850s, primitive water- and steam-driven sash mills began springing up along local waterways like Cypress Creek and Big Sandy Creek. Communities like Bettie and Ashland developed around these early lumber operations, supplying rough-cut board lumber for local homes, barns, and businesses.
Transportation Limits: Because overland transport relied on ox-drawn wagons over unpaved dirt roads, early mills could only serve localized needs.
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Railroad Expansion and the “Bonanza Era” (1880s–1920s)
The local timber industry underwent a dramatic transformation following the Reconstruction era, driven by the arrival of major rail lines.
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Railroad Infrastructure ──> Industrial Sawmills ──> Timber Shipping Towns
(Cotton Belt & T&P) (100+ Operations) (Rhonesboro, Bettie, Big Sandy)
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Rail Connection: The arrival of the Texas & St. Louis Railway (the “Cotton Belt”) and the Texas & Pacific Railway in the late 19th century connected Upshur County’s dense timber reserves to national markets.
Peak Operations: By the early 1900s, nearly 100 sawmills operated across Upshur County simultaneously. The region contributed heavily to Texas’s peak lumber output in 1907.
Timber Towns & Tram Roads: Communities grew directly around mill operations.
Rhonesboro: Became a bustling lumber shipping point anchored by local mills and logging tram railroads; when the surrounding timber was exhausted around 1917, the mills closed and the rail lines were dismantled.
Big Sandy: Home to major operations like the Ferguson’s Switch mills and the Big Sandy Crate Manufacturing Company, which utilized local sawtimber for agricultural boxes and crates.
Bettie & Ashland: Continued as prominent lumber hubs, processing both pine and hardwoods (such as post oak and gum) alongside local agricultural goods.
Logging Practices: Mills during this era utilized “cut-out and get-out” logging methods, clear-cutting vast tracts of virgin forest to meet high demand for commercial construction and railroad ties.
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Decline, Conservation, and Replanting (1930s–1950s)
By the late 1920s and early 1930s, the initial timber boom reached its natural limit.
Depletion & Depression: A combination of exhausted virgin forests and falling lumber demand during the Great Depression forced many independent sawmills out of business.
Reforestation Efforts: The 1930s marked the birth of modern forest conservation. Federal programs, including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Texas Forest Service, began replanting cut-over lands and introducing fire control measures, shifting East Texas timber from an extractive industry to a managed, renewable crop.
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Modern Era
Post-World War II technological advances—such as automated log debarkers, modern paper mills, and wood composite manufacturing—reshaped how timber was utilized.
Today, timber remains an important part of Upshur County’s agricultural economy, though the landscape has changed. Massive, short-lived “mill towns” have given way to managed pine plantations, selective harvesting, and commercial pulp and lumber supply chains that feed larger regional processing facilities across East Texas.
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