Lutcher & Moore Lumber Company
Lutcher and Moore , from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, relocated in Orange and began building their first mill, the Crescent & Queen, known as the Upper Mill. The second mill, the one above known as the Lower Mill, was originally a shingle mill built and owned by G. W. Michael from 1883 to 1887. He sold it to L. Miller in 1887, who organized it as the L. Miller Lumber and Shingle Company. As cypress became scarcer for shingles, a new lumber mill was built in 1899 next to the older one. Lutcher and Moore bought it in 1901 and took operational control in 1904. It shipped 10.2 million feet in September 1905. The Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company paid a monthly wage of $22,000 in 1905 to its employees, who worked a ten-hour day. By 1905, it had elevated water tanks and sprinkler systems. In 1905, their company tapline, the Gulf & Sabine, included 100 miles of main and lateral tracks, ten locomotives, 151 log cars. It shipped 10.2 million feet in September that year.
The Lower Mill, according to The Gulf Coast Lumberman, burned to the ground with a $150,000 loss in 1915. By May 1917, the facility was being rebuilt, and was running by July, two months later, according to The Gulf Coast Lumberman. The rebuilt lumber mill had the latest in gang edgers, trimmers,automatic steam loaders, flippers, and a shotgun feed.
Williams believes it was closed September 19, 1929. The Gulf Coast Lumberman reported in May, 1930, that one of the Lutcher & Moore mills were closed, and the other was attempting to access Caribbean timber in order to stay open. The Great Depression closed both mills by the end of 1930. Wier Long Leaf Lumber Company leased Lutcher's log reserve in Newton County. I
Mill Details
Alpha Numeric Key:
OR
Owner Name
Lutcher & Moore Lumber Company. L. Miller Lumber and Shingle Co, purchased from G. W. Michael.
Location
On the northern edge of Orange, on the Sabine River
County
Orange
Years in Operation:
48
Start Year:
1883
End Year:
1930
Decades:
1880-1889,1890-1899,1900-1909,1910-1919,1920-1929,1930-1939
Period of Operation:
1883 to 1930
Town:
Orange
Company Town:
2
Peak Town Size:
7000 in 1906; 17000 in 1928
Mill Pond:
0
