Brown Lumber Company was manufacturing cypress and pine shingles at Jefferson according to the Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, January 1905 and in 1907 editions.
The company had originally been owned by R. R. Taylor and was known as the “Shanghai Mill.” It became the Caddo Lake Shingle Company with its shingle mill on Cypress Bayou at Jefferson. In October of 1900, the company was leased to T. Coleman along with the commissary, the gasoline boat and the barges. Cypress Shingle mortgaged its assets to Brown Lumber Company (George W Brown) in 1900. Equipment included a steam engine, a boiler, the buildings, etc. An older boat and three barges were used to tow the product to the company sawmill.