According to The Gilmer Mirror, the Tyler Star Lumber Company had extensive milling and logging interests in Upshur County before the turn of the century. Smith County Deed Records note that the company went into receivership in 1895. Its offices were located in Tyler with its property at Gilmer, adjacent to the M. J. Camp and A. D. Floyd houses. Mechanic liens filed by various companies noted that the lumber company had a dry kiln shed with an abestos roof that covered eight furnaces and a Fay & Egan flooring machine.