A Mr. Todd built the first sawmill at the location that became known as Todd in Grimes County. The I&GN built through the area about 1902, and the mill would probably date from about that time. The mill reportedly had six planing mills under one roof. White workers lived on the west side of the facility and blacks lived on the east side. The mill went into receivership and was operated by Will Jeanes. Will Jeanes had done earlier logging about a mile and a half north of the sawmill, in the general area of the Dyer mill. His company tram road included rolling stock consisting of a dinky.
Miller-Vidor apparently took over for Jeanes, and it was reported in July 1909 that William Holliday had “recently” acquired the Todd sawmill and timber from the Miller & Vidor Lumber Company. Holliday was also a director of the Alf Bennett Lumber Company and the Dayton Lumber Company of Dayton, Texas. The output of the Todd mill was managed by the Alf Bennett Lumber Company by February 1910.
In 1909 the company town consisted of a commissary, a boarding house, and around forty rent houses. The sawmill plant consisted of the saw mill, a planing mill, steam dry kilns, and lumber sheds. Tram mileage was four miles in July 1909.