Given the history of south Mississippi, it's no surprise that Eastabuchie grew out of the lumber industry. In fact, the area was an important spot on the railroad running between Meridian and New Orleans. Southern Mississippi was over ninety percent forest at the time of settling, much of it longleaf yellow pine, or pinus palustris. The wood was uniformly fine-grained and ranged in color from dark reddish-yellow to reddish brown. It was used primarily as a building material for railroad car sills, bridge timbers, and railroad ties. Outside of the railroad industry, longleaf pine lumber made strong flooring and ceiling material. [1]
About the same time that railroads were beginning to intersect in nearby Hattiesburg, Eastabuchie began to grow its lumber mills. James M. Wesson, Jr., who began a sawmill business with his father in southwestern Mississippi in the early 1870s, eventually moved to Eastabuchie and started a mill with his brother in law, Herny Earns. [1]
The Eastabuchie Lumber Manufacturing Company was incorporated in February 1889 by J.F. Moore of Enterprise, Thomas A. Smith of Meridian, and A. H. White. Later that year, Smith sold his interest to White and Moore, and in turn on 24 May 1890, White sold his interest to Butler McClanahan and W.C. Wood, who had also been in the sawmill business in southwestern Mississippi. Cutting longleaf yellow pine, the mill had a capacity of 20,000 feet per day. [2] Ultimately, McClanahan and Wood began an association with Wesson, Jr. that would last for many years. [3]
By 1893, Moore had retired, and on 21 April 1894, the company was reorganized as the Eastabuchie Lumber Company. Wood and McClanahan were joined by James M. Kennedy and Charles J. Welch in leadership. The mill was growing and with a new circular saw the cutting capacity had grown to 60,000 feet per day by 1900. The company also owned some 32,000 acres of longleaf yellow pine timber in the area. [2]
Another lumberman who became a part of Eastabuchie Lumber Company was T. L. O'Donnell. Born 15 August, 1875, at Escatawpa in Washington County, O'Donnell began working as the checking clerk in the finishing department of the Mississippi Cotton and Woolen Mills at Wesson, MS. After accomplishing the role of assistant overseer, he stepped down to attend Millsaps College for about a year. In 1896 O'Donnell became bookkeeper and general manager of the general merchandise store and turpentine plant at Eastabuchie. Eventually he was promoted to vice-president. [4]
Clearly a significant lumber mill, Eastabuchie Lumber company was actually part of the contingency from the Southern (Pitch Pine) Lumber Manufacturer's Association that participated in the Paris Exposition in 1900. [5]
Unfortunately, a fire completely destroyed the mill on 6 June 1901, and on 28 September 1901 its remaining assets were sold to the Eureka Lumber Company of Lux in Covington county for $81,230. [2] The loss of the lumber mills didn't just affect the timber industry, though. It also decimated the town of Eastabuchie, which had actually been growing and developing at a pace faster than that of nearby Petal and Hattiesburg, both of which would ultimately surpass Eastabuchie in size.
[1] Hoffman, G. H. (1992). Dummy lines through the longleaf. Oxford, MS: Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
[2] History by Gil Hoffman, found at http://www.mississippicorps.com/corp/384883.html
[3] Eastabuchie Lumber Company advertisement, found at: https://goo.gl/n6l4KX.
[4] From The National Lumberman, Volume 45, found at: https://goo.gl/VzPd22.
[5] Plant of the Eastabuchie Lumber Company. St. Louis Lumberman, (37). June 1900.
[6] 56th Congress, 2nd session, Senate Document 232. The Commissioner-General for the United States to the international Universal Exposition Volume IV, 28 February 1901, Washington Government Printing Office. Found online at This Link.