Richard Blair built a small saw mill near Pollok soon after the Cotton Belt arrived in Angelina County. The mill was relocated to Lufkin on the Houston East and West Texas railroad by 1893. At this new location it was listed as cutting 10,000 board feet per day in April 1893. The mill was probably dismantled after 1900.
Records of the 1900 Census revealed the following persons living in Precinct 1, Angelina County: Residence 477, Richard Blair, lumber manufacturer; Dr. John Eagan, mill physician, at residence 478; Residence 478, Dr. John Eagan, mill physician, and two boarders-Fred Evans, mill bookkeeper, and Ashley Stroud, mill shipping clerk; Residence 479, A. J. Caruthers, lumber manufacturer.