J. H. Millikien & Sons had been operating a sawmill near New Waverly since 1890 or 1891. They were located on ten acres near New Waverly, and were logging with two yokes of oxen. American Lumber Mills bought the plant in 1898 for $10, including an engine, a boiler, a sawmill carriage and set works, one edger, one planer, shaftings, belts, and dollies. The property was located on six acres of T. A. Millikien.
Son H. L. Millikien served as president of American Lumber Mills and G. M. Millikien was its secretary. On August 10, 1898 the Millikien contracted with Texas and Louisiana Company, of Houston, to sell it 250,000 feet monthly except for four cars, about 50,000 feet. American Lumber would size and dress the lumber. American Lumber owed George M. Dilley & Co almost $3,000 for a steam locomotive with four drive wheels, one Blakeslee steam pump, and one 24-inch two-saw Curtis trimmer.
James H. Millikien, born in 1842 in Alabama, served in the Confederate armed forces with Hood's Texas Brigade and Tom Green's Cavalry Brigade. Son Thomas A. Millikien owned a cotton plantation and managed Thomas Foster's timber lands for five decades.