A thumb-nail history of the city of Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1836 to the year 1912 Page: 131
184 p. : illus. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
CHAPTER EIGHT.
Houston's First Sawmill-The First Cotton Compress-Early
Foundries-Ice Making-Meat
Packeries-The Big Establishments of Today.
While there was quite a large sawmill and gristmill,
blacksmith shop and lumber yard at Harrisburg,
established there by Mr. Robert Wilson, the
father of the late Mr. Jas. T. D. Wilson, who came
to Texas in 1828, it would not be exactly fair to
claim these as the first Houston manufacturing enterprises.
The first, strictly Houston concern i
the manufacturing line, if a sawmill falls under
that head, was the old sawmill that stood just about
where the Milam street bridge crosses Buffalo
Bayou. That mill was built in the early forties.
Mr. Elim Stockbridge built a cornmeal mill at
the foot of Texas avenue in 1844. The Morning
Star was greatly pleased with this evidence of progress
and gave quite a glowing account of the motive
power which was three oxen on a treadmill.
During the same year Mr. N. T. Davis erected
the first compress in Houston. The Morning Star
speaking of this compress in its issue of March 11,
1844, says: "A few days ago we visited the cotton
compress lately erected in this city by Mr. N. T.
Davis, and were agreeably surprised to find that
the machine used for compressing cotton bales admirably
answers the purposes for which it was constructed.
With the aid of only two hands, Mr.
Davis can compress a bale of 500 pounds into a
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Young, Samuel Oliver. A thumb-nail history of the city of Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1836 to the year 1912, book, 1912; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth24649/m1/147/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.