The Aber Box & Crate Factory built crates for vegetable and fruit growers throughout Texas from the first decade of the new century. Established in 1896, this was the first such factory west of the Mississippi River. The original owners were Edgar Aber and Fred Haberle. Fred Haberle became sole owner after 1904. The warehouses could store seventy carloads of baskets in inventory. In 1906, the Aber Box & Basket Factory was located on Devereux and Brown streets at Jacksonville. Machinery and buildings included the planing mill, a lumber shed, a box factory, the machine shop, drying rack, blacksmith shop, and a dry kiln. 110 workmen were employed in 1951.
In 1954, Glenn (forty percent) and Francis (thirty-two percent) Haberle owned 72 percent of stock of Aber Box and Basket Company. The remainder was owned by other members of the family. The mill closed in 1976.