J. S. “Simp” Miller had been taxed as early as 1894 for industrial machinery, probably pertaining to cotton gin and grist milling.
On 30 March 1908, Miller mortgage to Stevens and Blackshear for $1000 his multi-combination milling operation: a grist mill, steam machinery, a gin stand, a cotton gin with press and scales, a sawmill and a shingle mill, plus one-third of the output of the mills and gin.