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Lucille Mims Johnson Bradley, 100 went home to
be with her Master, Jan 12, 2014. Visitation,
Friday, 11:30-5 Collins & Johnson and 6-8 pm
First Missionary Baptist Church, 614 Ave H,
Conroe, TX, Rev. Ernest Rucker, Pastor.
Services, Saturday, 1 pm, West Tabernacle, 1900
FM 2854, Conroe, TX, Rev. A.R. Shelton, Pastor.
Rev. Ernest Rucker, eulogist, Rev. William
Denman, officiant. Interment Rosewood Cemetery,
Conroe, TX.
Mrs. Bradley was a long time member of the
community, educator in the CISD, church
vocalist, musician and a active community
leader. She will be missed by many.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/courier/obituary.aspx?n=lucille-mims-johnson-bradley&pid=169119666&fhid=19406#sthash.Vky1CZuu.dpuf
Lucille Mims Johnson Bradley, 100 went home to
be with her Master, Jan 12, 2014. Visitation,
Friday, 11:30-5 Collins & Johnson and 6-8 pm
First Missionary Baptist Church, 614 Ave H,
Conroe, TX, Rev. Ernest Rucker, Pastor.
Services, Saturday, 1 pm, West Tabernacle, 1900
FM 2854, Conroe, TX, Rev. A.R. Shelton, Pastor.
Rev. Ernest Rucker, eulogist, Rev. William
Denman, officiant. Interment Rosewood Cemetery,
Conroe, TX.
Mrs. Bradley was a long time member of the
community, educator in the CISD, church
vocalist, musician and a active community
leader. She will be missed by many.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/courier/obituary.aspx?n=lucille-mims-johnson-bradley&pid=169119666&fhid=19406#sthash.Vky1CZuu.dpuf
Lucille Mims Johnson Bradley, 100 went home to
be with her Master, Jan 12, 2014. Visitation,
Friday, 11:30-5 Collins & Johnson and 6-8 pm
First Missionary Baptist Church, 614 Ave H,
Conroe, TX, Rev. Ernest Rucker, Pastor.
Services, Saturday, 1 pm, West Tabernacle, 1900
FM 2854, Conroe, TX, Rev. A.R. Shelton, Pastor.
Rev. Ernest Rucker, eulogist, Rev. William
Denman, officiant. Interment Rosewood Cemetery,
Conroe, TX.
Mrs. Bradley was a long time member of the
community, educator in the CISD, church
vocalist, musician and a active community
leader. She will be missed by many.
A Forest of
Dreams:
Conroe lumbers into the 20th century
with Delta Mill
By
Brad Meyer
Contributing writer
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From Montgomery County News, Conroe, Texas
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Back in
1916, the Delta Land & Timber Company launched a major
logging operation covering 90,000 acres of virgin timber in
and around an area now known as the Sam Houston National
Forest
While much of America struggles with economic woes,
Montgomery County is one of the fastest-growing regions in
the nation. It’s not the first time this community was at
the forefront of prosperity and opportunity.
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Back in 1916,
the Delta Land & Timber Company launched a major logging
operation covering 90,000 acres of virgin timber in and
around an area now known as the Sam Houston National Forest.
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“There were many
logging operations in the south in the late 19th and early
20th century,” said Larry Foerster, chairman of the
Montgomery County Historical Society. “But the DLTC
operation was one of the biggest during its time in
operation.”
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The operation, a
division of the Central Coal & Coke Company out of Kansas
City, Mo., employed more than 700 workers on day and night
shifts with a monthly payroll in excess of $30,000. The
central mill, located in Conroe, produced 250,000 feet of
lumber each day — providing raw materials for construction
throughout the country.
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Conroe resident Mike Smith reviewing a
logging map of the area that became the Sam Houston National
Forest. Both of his grandfathers worked in the logging industry
in Conroe in the early 1900s
Several logging
camps throughout the regions were connected to the mill by
railways. Workers would cut the trees and transport them to
Conroe via six locomotives and 150 logging cars. Both of
Conroe resident Mike Smith’s grandfathers worked for the
operation — one as an engineer with the railroad.
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“The mill was
originally going to be in Montgomery, but the locals didn’t
want it there and it was moved to Conroe,” said Smith.
“There was a lot of noise when the logs were unloaded — I’m
told it sounded like rolling thunder.”
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Rigby Owen Jr.
noted that the first Montgomery County Fair took place in
the mid-1920s in Mill Town. DLTC provided space and
electricity for the annual event for many years until the
event outgrew the space available in Mill Town.
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To attract and
keep workers, DLTC created camps at the logging facilities
to house workers and a larger community in Conroe, between
South Frazier and Interstate 45, known as Mill Town. Little
remains of this once important part of Conroe’s social and
economic history.
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Conroe resident
Herbert “Kix” Lamp, 90, and his two brothers were born in
one of the logging camps and grew up in Mill Town. His
father was a supervisor for DLTC through much of its
operation.
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A photo
ca 1924 of workers at Conroe Mill Town
“My mother
wanted the family to stay together so they lived at various
logging camps in a period when I was born,” said Lamp. “It
wasn’t luxurious, but we had running water and a relatively
comfortable existence.”
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Later, the Lamp
family moved to Mill Town in Conroe in 1927 where row
housing was set up and made available to workers in a
pecking order based on seniority and position. In the era of
segregation, white residents were provided housing with
running water, blacks carried water from central water
stations.
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“We had
bathtubs, but they emptied out into the backyard,” recalled
Lamp. “There were no indoor toilets for anyone. You had to
go to outdoor privies that were cleaned out manually. That
wasn’t pleasant when it was cold outside.”
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But residents of
Mill Town were provided with not only housing, but
commissary stores, doctors, entertainment and a swimming
pool. Indeed the large indoor swimming pool constructed at
Mill Town was one of the first indoor pools in the region.
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“When I was
around 14 I’d get 35 cents for doing four to eight hours of
work cutting grass with a scythe,” said Lamp. “It was hard
work, but things were cheap. A movie ticket was nine cents,
a hamburger was a nickel and cold drinks were also a
nickel.”
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Lamp recalls the
excitement in Mill Town and Conroe in 1936 as Texas
celebrated its centennial. There were lots of activities,
music and special events for workers and their families. The
mill payroll provided significant support for the creation
of various businesses in Conroe and expansion of the Conroe
Independent School District.
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While work was
plentiful, it was also dangerous, said Smith. The
steam-powered mills employed a pulley system to operate
equipment. There were few protections for workers and
accidents were common — taking many fingers from unfortunate
employees.
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In the 30s,
while much of the nation was reeling with the Great
Depression, Conroe had a strong lumber business as well as a
booming oil business with the discovery of huge petroleum
reserves. But in the late 30s, the supply of raw timber
began to diminish in the region and the need for workers
slowed — abruptly.
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“At one point,
wages dropped from 27 cents an hour to half that,” said
Smith. “By 1938, they basically ran out of timber.”
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DLTC sold its
holdings in the area to the Conroe Lumber Corporation which
in turn sold to J. S. Hunt. Much of the timberland logged by
the operation was eventually sold to the government which
ultimately became the Sam Houston National Forest.
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No longer there, an old concrete kiln
off of Interstate 45.
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“There isn’t
much remaining of Mill Town — maybe a house or two off of
South Frazier,” said Lamp. “But it was a major part of the
community back in the day.”
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For information
on Conroe and Montgomery County history, visit
www.heritagemuseum.us
or call 936-539-6873. |
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Conroe Courier
February 9, 2014 | Home
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