WILLIAMS, ARIZONA:. OUTLINE OF THE LUMBER MILLS IN THE AREA

 

WILLIAMS, AZ.:  OUTLINE OF THE LUMBER MILLS IN THE AREA 

(UPDATED 9/27/21.)COPYRIGHT; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (5/10/22)

1882-1884: Parker and Company; Tie cutters and p0rtable mill at Chalender (aka "Pamela") By 1906, mill and townsite reportedly a near ghost town (Fuchs 75, 76; Stein 7.) 

1882-1883: W.Z. Wilson and Alvin Haskell; operated on a ranch formerly owned by Rogers Vinton, several miles SW of Williams. Possibly some mill employees lived in Williams. Mill provided lumber, timbers and ties for the railroad, local residents and other communities. Mill was operated around June 1882; by November, moved to Prescott, AZ. Some confusion exists as to the location and the veracity of a story referring to  a town named "Sun-Up." Location reported just west of Williams. Sun-Up reportedly had one mill, a store, restaurant and saloons. When the milled closed, town moved to Williams (Fuchs 56,65,72,73; Stein 6.) Could this be the construction town located above Johnson Canyon tunnel? Or is it a townsite, now covered by the Williams cemetery just west of town?  

1891-1894(?): E.P. Clark and A.D. Adams operated a mill 2 miles SW of Williams. 

1892: A. Greenlaw and Brother operated a circular say mill located at Chalender. Up to ten teams hauled logs to the mill that made ties for the Prescott and Phoenix RR. Operated for ten years (NAU Archives, MS314, Box 1, Mill File, The Lumberjack, Vol. 1.)

June, 1893: Saginaw mills were in production at Williams and Chalender, AZ. (Fuchs 108,110; Stein 30.)

1893-1900s: J.M. Dennis Lumber Company was contracted to cut timber for the Saginaw, moving a plant from New Mexico. In 1893 the sawmill was located 8 miles east of Williams at Walker. By 1901 the mill was located at Rhoades, 16 miles east of Williams. Facility included a box factory and plaining mill (Fuchs 110,145,181.) Was it possible that there were several portable mills, in addition to the permanent site at Rhoades? Rhoades appears to be Chalender or Maine, which the latter was located at  present day Parks, AZ. 

1882-?: Edward Ayers built branch mills at Bellemont and Prentice, serviced by the A&P. Arizona Lumber and Timber company operated a mill at Bellemont from 1887-1907. This could be one and the same mill at Bellemont (Schupper 30, 64.) 


  SAGINAW AND MANISTEE TIMELINE

1893 - SAGINAW LUMBER COMPANY, OF WILLIAMS, ARIZONA INCORPORATED. MILL BUILT

1893-1897 -CHALENDER MILL IN OPERATION

1894-? CHALENDER SOUTH LINES

1898-1904(8) -SAGINAW SOUTHERN INCORPORATED AS COMMON CARRIER

1899- COMPANY RE-INCORPORATED AS SAGINAW AND MANISTEE TIMBER COMPANY

1902-1906(?) -CHALENDER NORTH LINE

1903-1929- BELLEMONT LINE  (1904-18 MILES; 1917 -KENDRICK MTN; 1929 -29 MILES.)

1924-1929(?) - GARLAND PRAIRIE LINE

CIRCA 1920 - PORTABLE CAMPS PHASED-IN

CIRCA 1928 - HORSES SOLD; MECHANIZED LOGGING

1930-1936 -TUSAYAN LINE

1941 - ARIZONA LUMBER AND TIMBER OPERATIONS IN FLAGSTAFF, AZ. LEASED BY THE SAGINAW AND MANISTEE

1942 -WILLIAMS MILL CLOSED


(SOURCES: STEIN, GLOVER, FUCHES)


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