G. R. Burroughs began operating a steam sawmill in Cherokee County before the turn of the century. In 1894, he bought from J. W. Summers & Co a 20-horsepower steam engine with a sawmill and a shingle mill. He bought from Tyler Foundry, in 1900, a 3-saw edger with 16” saws for $175. He bought from F. Kavanaugh a 25-horsepower 10-inch by 12-inch steam engine. In June, 1901, he sold his “entire sawmill outfit” and a shingle machine to J. W. Summers Co. for $200. The Summers & Musick lumber operation was listed in the 1907 Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1907 as manufacturers of yellow pine lumber and shingles at Alto.
In 1908, the county deed records note that after Summers' death that his executrix, Sally Summers, transferred the stock of Summers & Musick to E. A. Blount, W. T. Whiteman, and E. M. Decker.