Book preserves heritage of East Texas forestry; "The House of Thompson" reprinted

"The House of Thompson" was first printed in 1908 by "The American Lumberman" and a reprint has just been published from a scan of the original volume. This historical book contains over 90 pages of rare photos that show the woods as they looked when the early settlers arrived in East Texas. Anyone associated with the timber industry, the history of East Texas, and family histories will find this book a treasure. It belongs in community libraries, schools, industries and individual homes and offices.

This historical document recounts the story of the Thompson brothers, John Martin Thompson and William Wirt Thompson, and the series of sawmills they built in East Texas towns including New and Old Willard, Doucette, Grayburg, and Trinity. They and their mills played a major role in the development of East Texas lumbering. Great-great grandchildren of John Martin Thompson, Lucile Slocomb Thompson and John Guy Slocumb, gave the Texas Forestry Museum a copy of "The American Lumberman" along with the original photographs taken for the publication. The book features pictures of virgin pine forests taken by the photographer from "The American Lumberman" in 1907 while traveling in East Texas.

In 1881, the Thompson Brothers moved their company office to Willard and built a mill. When they surveyed the available forests along with proposed railroad course, they thought there was timber standing to supply the mill for its lifetime. In 1887, the railroad reached the area, so Thompson and partner Henry Tucker bought a tram steam locomotive and crews built tramways into the areas that were to be cut. Loggers cut the huge trees with crosscut saws. Trees less than 12 inches in diameter were left standing. The scaler determined the most efficient lengths to cut the logs. The buckers and shoppers trimmed the limbs and cut the timber into correct lengths. As much of the log as possible was used.

Logs were skidded to the tramway with the help of horses, mules, or oxen. Larger logs wee skidded with a high-wheeled slip tongue cart pulled by mules or oxen. Loading the logs on the wagon or rail car was done as a "cross-haul" with a cable attached to the wagon, passed over the log and then back over the wagon to a horse or mule team on the other side, then the log was eased up a pair of poles to the wagon while two men steadied the log.

Steam equipment was available in the woods just before 1900. The steam loader and steam skidder increased the amount of logs that could be loaded by a woods crew. When working in areas too distant to return to the sawmill at night, a "front camp" was set up, often including families. Loads of logs was moved back to the mill, and unloaded, usually into a millpond to wash the dirt off from skidding and protect against insect.

By 1908 special equipment for log handling had been developed making work safer. Inside the mill, the logs were set on the steam powered log carrier and cut into lengths to make the best use of the wood. The boards then were trimmed with circular blades. The person who kept the saws operating was the saw filer who was the highest paid laborer at the mill. The rough-cut lumber was sorted by size and stacked to air dray for 30 days. Later the lumber was stored in rough sheds. Lumber selected to be dressed was placed in a brick kiln where steam heat and blowers lowered the moisture content of the lumber in 4 to 6 days, then cooled before dressing in the planning mills.

Steam engines, or a dynamo, provided power for the equipment in the sawmill and planer mill. Separate engines in each mill allowed the operation to continue if there was a fire in one section which was fairly common. Lumber was shipped from a shipping platform and placed on railroads that expanded the market for East Texas lumber. More and more railroads criss-crossed East Texas with increasing demand for Thompson Brothers southern yellow "Lone Star Pine."

Reprint of the book was triggered by two coinciding events: the 25th anniversary of the Trinity County Forest Landowners Association (TCFLA) in 2007, and the 100th anniversary of the creation of the original Thompson photos in 1907 and the subsequent printing in book form the following year. To make this project possible, an original print copy of "The house of Thompson" from the Texas Forestry Museum was scanned at the East Texas Research Center Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches.

Hardback, 90-plus pages of photographs and stories of the Thompson Brothers' sawmills, $30 plus $7 shipping . This facsimile copy is sponsored by the Sam R. and Malcom Monroe Barnes Foundation to preserve our history and to document the story of living and logging in the East Texas forests of the past. For each book, send a check for $30 plus $7 shipping and handling made out to "House of Thompson" to: Jane Baxter, 4641 Chalmers Drive, Nashville, TN 37215. For more information, call 615-594- 4642.