The firm of Wilson and Jefferson, according to the Northwestern Lumberman, operated a sawmill on the Houston East and West Texas Railway, south of the Trinity River, in 1880.
The Manuscript Census of 1880, reporting for June 1, 1879 to May 31, 1880, detailed the business operations for the sawmill. The sawmill, d a capital value of $5,000, working twenty-two men normally. The employees received daily wages of $1.25 to $2.00 for ten hour days in summer and nine hours in winter. Jefferson & Williams paid a total wage of $8,000. From a total value of $25,000 of supplies and sawlogs, the sawmill manufactured four million feet of lumber valued at a gross value of $40,000.
The mill operated fulltime during the twelve-month reporting period.