The Braley & Gaston sawmill at Troupe, in Smith County, was and remained a small outfit. It was listed as Braley & Gaston in the 1905 edition of Reference Book of the Lumbermen's Credit Association, and was reported to be cutting 6,000 feet a day in 1906 by the Southern Industrial and Lumber Review. It was again listed in the 1907 LCA reference book.
W. F. Braley had been buying stumpage as early as 1901 from the Carleton Lumber Company. Gaston either mortgaged or sold outright his undivided share in the sawmill in 1904. In March and November 1911, Braley mortgaged to the Alto State Bank 200,000 wooden strips and later the First National Bank at Troup for $5796 “534,000 wooden strips used in refrigeration.”