The Village Mills Company (W. A. Fletcher, E. A. Fletcher, J. F. Keith) was a subsidiary of Texas Tram and Lumber Company (W. A. Fletcher). Both organizations grew out of the firms, Long and Company and Beaumont Lumber Company, of Beaumont. By the time the mill at Village, Hardin County, was built in 1882, W. A. Fletcher was the majority stockholder of Village Mills and Texas Tram. Jehu Frank Keith was vice-president and superintendent of these firms. The sawmill was constructed about a mile north of the town of Village at Long Station. In 1889, the 600 citizens were equally divided by race. By 1890, the population of Village had reached 800 and was possibly the largest settlement in Hardin County. The town grew so much that the mill's location was described in 1902 as being situated “in the very center of town (Village)” just west of the T&NO tracks. The mill was very successful, receiving mostly crosstie orders, and was able to record several “cutting records” for a sawmill of its size. The Village plant had always had a reputation as a high production operation. The newly formed Kirby Lumber Company acquired the facility on January 1, 1902. A Kirby evaluation of the mill in 1904 remarked that the plant was “without modern conveniences,” but was “one of the strongest circular mills, and heretofore one of the most successful.” Kirby soon added a large log pond and a small dry kiln to the plant. Kirby Lumber later added planing-mill facilities. The mill once cut more than a quarter-million board feet in eleven hours. The first wood-building dry kiln had a capacity of 15,000 feet per day. Appraised at $36,100 in 1904, the mill, by 1911, with improvements was worth $139,700. The mill continued to be successful, but changes in the lumber market prompted Kirby management to close the mill in August 1913. It remained closed until at least April 1914. The mill was reconstructed in 1917 and resumed operations in
(see Interpretative Commentary on next page)