W. W. Traylor had a sawmill at Rusk in 1934 reported the The Lumbermen's Credit Rating Book. That simple report does not reflect the family history of the Traylor's and East Texas sawmilling. Oliver and son Elijah Traylor freighted wagons and owned portable sawmills. The coming of the railroads put the freighting out of business, but the need for lumber increased. So did the Traylor sawmilling, from the Neches River to Rusk. Eventually, Walter, Oliver's grandson, reflected the stability of later times, as he owned, for a time, a sawmill in Rusk.