Brown & Newsom's sawmill enumerated in Precinct 4 in Wood County during the 1880 Census may be the successor to the M. J. Brown sawmill of 1870 in the same precinct. Brown may have taken Newsom as a partner.
The Census d the capital value of the sawmill to $3,000. Brown & Newsom employed five workers at peak production and three normally. The employees were paid a daily wage of $.75 for eight-hour shifts in the winter and ten-hour shifts in the summer. The employees received a total wage combined of $200 for the year. From $550 worth of sawlogs and supplies, the sawmill manufactured 100,000 board feet worth $1,000.