The Red Rock sawmill site located on the Sabine River began as a shingle mill. In 1875, according to Gregg County records, John H. Forman bought an one-quarter interest in 600 acres, lumber and shingles in the firm of Byram, Forman, & Co. The company had a shingle mill and possibly a sawmill in the county. The company was known as Forman Ketchum & Co by 1880 and was listed by an 1880 Chicago publication as located at Gladewater.
The 1880 Census lists the mill as being in Precinct 3 of Gregg County. During the reporting period, the mill from $10,300 worth of raw materials a total of two million board feet of lumber and four hundred thousand laths at a gross value of $20,800. The mill operated fulltime for five months. The mill employed thirty-five to forty-five men at daily wages ranging from $1.50 to $3.00 for ten-hour shifts; the men earned a combined total wage of $6,000 during the reporting period. Logging was done by the company woods crew near the mill.
The company had become Ketchum & Co by 1893, when the Galveston Weekly News reported the sawmill to be cutting 30,000 feet daily.