R. C. Garrett and Edward Key bought Carpenter's portable sawmill in 1883. It was located about one and a half miles southwest of Hallsville. Other property included a 32-horsepower boiler, a steam engine, ten cattle, three log wagons, two road wagons, 50,000 feet of lumber at the mill, and another 300,000 feet of lumber stack at the tracks of the Texas & Pacific at Hallsville. The purchase price was $5,000. The deal must have fallen through, for two months later, Carpenter took a deed of trust from J. J. McDermont for the sawmill and property in the sum of $5,600. Some property listed included twenty-seven oxen, four log wagons, and 241 1/2 acres in the W. C. Crawford Headright, on which the sawmill was located.