W. G. Ragley Lumber Company
W. G. Ragley immigrated to Texas from Iowa in 1879. He had earlier run a water mill in Pennsylvania. Ragley and his partners erected and operated the W. R. Ragley Lumber Company mill in several locations in East Texas and Louisiana. He served as superintendent of the Jefferson Lumber Company in 1892. In Marion County, he operated mills located about a mile southwest of Jefferson, the county seat, and near Orr's Switch, in the northwestern part of the county. The Ragley tram road in Marion County became the genesis for the Texas Southern Railway Company. The company continued to buy tram road right-of-ways through the pineries in Marion and Harrison counties until 1902.
James H. Bemis may have been a partner with Ragley in this operation.
Mill Details
Alpha Numeric Key:
MA
Owner Name
W. G. Ragley Lumber Company
Location
Between Orr's Switch and Avinger
County
Marion
Years in Operation:
5
Start Year:
1898
End Year:
1902
Decades:
1890-1899,1900-1909
Period of Operation:
About 1898 to 1902
Town:
Near Orr's Switch
Company Town:
1
Peak Town Size:
Unknown
Mill Pond:
2