Crosby, according to the 1860 Census, operated a multi-mill combination producing lumber, meal, and flour, with capital investments of $2,000 invested in the sawmill and $6,000 in the grist mill. He paid four men a total monthly wage of $100 in lumber operations, and two men $50 monthly at the grist mill. Raw materials included $8,750 in trees, $12,000 in corn, and $1,000 in wheat. The mills manufactured 900,000 feet of lumber worth $13,500, 12,000 bushels of meal worth $14,000, and 200 bushels of flour worth $1,200.