The Jacksonville Journal reported in 1947 that Whitley had been sawmilling since 1905 and had been at Carmona since 1919. He employed twenty-five to thirty men with a weekly payroll of $1,000. He used three trucks and four wagons in his logging. The newspaper also noted that Whitley had “erected houses for his employees.” This operation was listed in the 1957 edition of Nelson T. Samson's Directory of Wood-Using and Related Industries in East Texas.
J. W. Whitley Lumber Company sold its lumber wholesale.