Kirby Lumber Corporation Mill R
The large Kirby sawmill at Bessmay was built in 1902, and it was one of the three sawmill plants built by the Kirby company during 1902. The town was named Bessmay after John Henry Kirby’s daughter, Bessie May, and the mill was the largest and best plant in the Kirby system until it was closed and its operations consolidated at the new Silsbee plant in 1954.
The mill employed around 700 workers, including logging operations. Apparently, the old Sanders-Trotti Tram Company operation at Buna was the foundation for Kirby tram operations in the area, for Buna was only two miles from Bessmay. By 1906, Kirby Lumber kept its tram camp at Buna. That same year, according to the American Lumberman, the company was operating fifteen miles of standard gauge railroad with two locomotives. In 1907, according to the county tax rolls, the tram road extended a total of three miles in Jasper County. Camp 3 logged an ample supply of good quality long leaf timber. By the end of the 1920s, the logging tram extended for thirty miles.
Keeling for Kirby Lumber Company at Bessmay, Blox, and Bon Wier, lists three miles of tram road.
Code
77
Corporate Name:
Corporate Name:
Folk Name:
Incorporated:
Ownership:
Kirby Lumber Corporation. Bought by Santa Fe in 1936.
Years of Operation:
1902 to 1954
Track Type:
Track Type:
Track Length:
Three
Locations Served:
Bessmay, about two miles north of Buna, in Jasper County.
Counties of Operation:
Line Connections:
Line Connections:
Track Information:
Track Information:
Equipment:
History:
The large Kirby sawmill at Bessmay was built in 1902, and it was one of the three sawmill plants built by the Kirby company during 1902. The town was named Bessmay after John Henry Kirby’s daughter, Bessie May, and the mill was the largest and best plant in the Kirby system until it was closed and its operations consolidated at the new Silsbee plant in 1954.
The mill employed around 700 workers, including logging operations. Apparently, the old Sanders-Trotti Tram Company operation at Buna was the foundation for Kirby tram operations in the area, for Buna was only two miles from Bessmay. By 1906, Kirby Lumber kept its tram camp at Buna. That same year, according to the American Lumberman, the company was operating fifteen miles of standard gauge railroad with two locomotives. In 1907, according to the county tax rolls, the tram road extended a total of three miles in Jasper County. Camp 3 logged an ample supply of good quality long leaf timber. By the end of the 1920s, the logging tram extended for thirty miles.
Keeling for Kirby Lumber Company at Bessmay, Blox, and Bon Wier, lists three miles of tram road.