Albert Tatum ran a sawmill in Rusk County, with Henderson as its post office. The sawmill was d a capital value of $10,000 in the 1860 census. Four men worked for a total monthly wage of $100 in the sawmill and one man in the grist mill for $30 monthly. The sawmill produced 500,000 feet of plank and 100,000 feet of sheathing, for a $5,500 value, while the gristmill produced cornmeal at the value of $17,200.
Tatum either moved and acquired less expensive equipment, or his complex suffered during the Civil War years. In 1870, his sawmill was d to be a $600 capital value and the grist mill $400. The sawmill and grist mill employed a total of four men during eight months at a total wage of $600. Raw materials included $700 in logs and $750 for 1,000 bushels. The lumber milled totaled 70,000 board feet at a value of $1,400 and the value of the cornmeal was $950.