Thaddeus Sawyer, according to research by Jonathan Gerland, had a sawmill and steam machinery rendered for Liberty County taxes in 1876 and 1877, valued at $1,500 and $2,000, respectively. The Liberty Star State reported in November, 1875, that the mill was starting up and that it was “the best sawmill in Southeastern Texas” with “the finest and most complete machinery in this section of the county.” The Sawyer mill had a large contract with Skinner Gifford and Company of New York to supply the needs of the Texas & New Orleans Railway Company in rebuilding between Houston and Beaumont.