Everett Rowland Sawmill, Tennessee One Place Study
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Location: Quebeck, White, Tennessee, United States
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Tennessee House_History
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Everett Rowland Sawmill, Tennessee One Place Study
Name
Everett Rowland Sawmill
Geography
- Continent: North America
- Country: United States
- State/Province: Tennessee
- County: White
- GPS Coordinates: 35.81630972782144, -85.56846310630519
- Elevation: 272.0 m or 892.4 feet
History
John Golston and his family moved from East Tennessee to White County, Tennessee, in the middle of the 1860s. Golston had been a farmer, but it had become difficult for him to make a living farming. Mr. Golston came across a local resident who needed a house built. Mr. Golston contracted to build the house, and things developed so that he moved to Quebeck, Tennessee, where he later opened a sawmill.
In 1929, a new boiler engine was bought from the Cincinnati, Ohio-based Southern Engine and Boiler Company. The boiler was one piece, and it took John Savage Kirby and Myrl Slatton four weeks to set it up. The engine only had 60 horsepower.
The sawmill, a circular mill, was the first mechanism for producing lumber at the time to use technology. The ancient manual labor pit saw was replaced by circular mills. One of Golston's stepsons, John Cooper, started working at the mill. Later, Carl Cooper, John's son, took over running it until 1930. Tennessee Saw and Planing Mill was bought by Everett Rowland, a mill customer, in 1930, and became Everett Rowland Lumber Company.
The mill supplied work during the Great Depression when Rowland took over when lumber was delivered to Nashville by rail as well as sawed to make house plans and lumber to build barns and other structures for local residents. The saw was self-sufficient and operated by a steam engine utilizing sawdust that was left over after usage. About 50 men worked at the mill during WWII, with 35 working in the mill and 15 chopping wood and operating six Dodge trucks to transport the logs to the mill. To move the logs to a location where a wagon could access them, five pairs of mules were used. It was a very risky task that required two or more men to load logs into trucks using skid poles and cant hooks. In 1955, Thompson & Green in Nashville sold a Caterpiller logging equipment, and Fred Clark in Sparta, Tennessee sold a Wiggler. Up until the introduction of the power chain saw to the market, the mill's lumber had to be cut with a crosscut saw, which required two men to operate. Mr. Rowland bought parcels throughout White County and even neighboring counties. Rowland remained involved in the company until he was a senior, at which point his youngest son, Thomas, took over.
Everett Rowland formerly operated a log rafting company before taking over the sawmill. Mr. Rowland made 80 to 85 trips to Nashville between 1910 and 1930 while rafting logs from the Caney Fork River to the Cumberland River and into Nashville. In 1949, a brand-new office and warehouse were constructed that offered all the materials required to build a house or other structures, along with seeds, fertilizer, a complete line of hard products, and a small selection of food and dry goods.
The sawmill was given to White County, Tennessee, a few years ago and, if the White County Heritage Museum can obtain funding, it might be converted into a museum. It only completed bespoke orders for clients in its final years of business before closing its doors.[1]
Population
List of Owners and Employees
- John Goldston (1803-1873) - Former Owner
- William Cooper (1843-1913) - Former Owner
- John Steele Cooper (1848-1930) - Former Owner
- Thomas Everett Rowland (1893-1983) - Owner
- Cecil Braxton Elliot (1900-1952) - Mule Driver
- Pascal Roberts (1913-1977) - Log Pusher
- Buddy Lee (Matheney Sr) Matheney Sr (1956-2014)
- Joe Lee Seibers (1931-1993)
- John Theron Rowland (1916-1971)
- Orville Lee Johnson Kirby (1888-1972)
- John Savage Kirby (1889-1968)
- James Willard Kirby (1920-1990)
- Arvin Boyd Kirby (1917-1988) - Truck Driver
- Freddie Lee Kirby (1937-1969) - Tractor Driver
- Thomas Clemon Roberts (1910-1994) - Sawer
- Myrl Slatten (1889-1968)
- Wiley Bill Tindle (1917-1976)
- JB Spakes (1917-1999)
- Jonas Seibers (1912-1982)
- Clifton Wright Sanders (1911-1984) - Stove Wood Truck
- Gordon Kirby (1922-1960)
- Charles Witt (1896-1966)
- Wiley Lasiter Goldston (1856-1923)
- Karl Russell Cooper (1896-1961) - Manager
Notables
No Known Notables at this time
Sources
Photos of Everett Rowland Sawmill
[http://web.blomand.net/~wcolley/wcghs.html White County Genealogical-Historical Society]
- ↑ Information obtained due to the courtesy of White County Heritage Museum, article from the Pastfinder, a paper put out by the White County TN Genealogical-Historical Society, and an article from 2014
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