Jesse T. Ratcliff's sawmill in Houston County appeared in an 1880 Chicago lumber publication. By 1884, Ratcliff added a shingle mill and planing mill, and all three mills were listed in Rand McNally and Company's 1884 directory of lumber mills. The mills were situated in the town known as Coltharp. (J. M. Smith also owned a sawmill at Coltharp during this time).
Bob Bowman recorded that Jesse Ratcliff came to Houston County in 1875 from Georgia. Ratcliff's daughter married Gary Mahoney, a local mercantile owner. She recalled that her father sold the land to 4-C for its mill at Kennard, and that his small mill continued to cut lumber for 4-C for some time after the erection of the large mill.