W. G. Ragley immigrated to Texas from Iowa in 1879. He had earlier run a water mill in Pennsylvania. During the 1880s and 1890s, Ragley operated mills at Jefferson, Kildare, Pine Ridge, and Winnsboro. Ragley and his partners erected and operated the Ragley mills at Ragley, Texas, and Ragley, Louisiana, for many years after the turn of the century.