J. T. Tribble sawmilled in Cherokee County during the 1880s and 1890s. The Census of 1880 enumerates him as living at Rusk. An 1884 railroad directory locates his mill at Rusk. For $225 he mortgaged with R. W. Finley, Agent, a 10-inch by 20-inch Lane and Bodley steam engine, on May 28, 1891. The following August, Tribble mortgaged with Keating an Erie steam engine. J. T. Tribble mortgaged with E. H. Lane for $400 an engine, boiler, resaw and all machinery in November of 1892. The lien was canceled December 21, 1893.