Milton A. Smith operated a sawmill before 1900 on Beaver Creek in the Crossroads community. He moved the mill to Chronister about 1900, according to the Cherokee County Historical Commission. Actually, it was just a few years before 1900 when he moved the mill. A Cherokee County deed record of 1898 revealed that the Smith mill, which would become part of the Chronister Lumber Company, had the following equipment: a 10-inch by 16-inch Atlas steam engine, a 44-inch by 12-foot boiler, a steam pump 200-feet of piping, a saw frame and mandrel, a carriage with head blocks and saw dogs, a saw gang edger, two circular saws, 125-feet of belting, a gummer, a blacksmith shop, buildings and dollyways, a planing mill with a 24-inch single surfacer matcher, a #7 Ames engine, a 40-inch by 12-foot boiler, a resaw.