Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-01-26

now partially digmantled. as are most
OF the others along the river between
the bridge and the lower part OF he
city.
In 1855 Samuel Cox and G. w. Stun
baugh quilt a mill In Lyons and the
next year it was destroyed by fire. 1t
was rebuilt by MIR. Stumbaugh I'm 1861,
but after running q few years its ma
chinery was moved out and the build
ing was used for many years for am
ice house.
Johnson g. Clark had a mill north of
the Stumbaugh plant, but IL was aban-
doncd during the panic of 1851. John
Pickering operated a mill for a year or
two also, but it too went under in the
panic.
In 1867 Ira Stockwell purchased the
Cox mill and the following year the
Stumbaugh mill and consolidated them.
He added new and modern machinery,
and the mill nae a capacity of 100000
feet daily. Ia 1874 tho yards were swept
by fire and the company sustained q
loss of $50. 900. Again, I'm the year 1876,
the mill was partially burned, and $50
men were throws out Of employment.
1t was reconstructed, however, by the
Lyons Lumber company n operated
until the early sos, wnen the mill was
h''".'AN''Ai''F ''AhN "N''NlNHNF
the ground.
In 1869 David Joyce and s. l. Smith
erected a mill I'm Lyons at a cost of $4,000.
Later Smith sold his interest to Mr., joyce,
who operated the mill untii the time OF his
death. when IL became the property Of
w. n. Joyce, now a Chicago millionaire,
who maintains a home i'm this city, and
still owns and operates the Joyce mill, tho
last Of It's kind in Clinton.
l.. b. WadIeigh. T.. L. Welles and d. ].
Batchclder pooled ISSUES i'm 1874 and formed
a lumber company, buying the Hauu grist
mill In Lyons and converting il into a saw
mill. In 1877 Wadleigh retired. selling his
interests TO Stimson b, Gardiner and his
two o George and Silas. the company
taking the firm name Of Welles, Gardner
& Co. The min was enlarged and had q
capacity Of 10000 O feet per annum, en-
ploying l5O men. In the course of years
the firm changed TO that OF Gardiner,
Ratchelder & Wulles. built another big mill
and employed over SEQ men. The two mills
went the way Of the others, the machinery
was hauled away, the last pile of lumber
disappeared and for years the buildings
stood idly on the river bank. Now, how
ever. the larger of the mills is the property
of Ingwcrsen, Borbcck & Co., who main
tain a lumber yard and planning mill, while
the smaller mill has been converted into
an implement plant.
The Clinton Granite Brick company pur-
chased the upper Lamb mill three years
ago, and has Installed in the building one
OF the largest manufactures OF brick in
iowa. With the three exceptions noted,
the mills which remain after the passage
of years Of abandonment are silent and
deserted and rapidly falling into decay.
Story of Decadence.
Such I'm brief IS a history of the rise
and fall Of the lumber industry in Gin
ton. And Clinton is not alone In this his
tory OF decadence. Most of the upper Mis-
sissippi river cites have experienced SINH
lar vicissitudes. Great mills sprung into
life, busy rafters supplied them with logs
for a decade or two, and throngs Of men
found employment In the shade of their
towering stacks. hen came the news,
''the mill VIII not run next year.
men went to look for other work.
and as a general thing they found it. One
by one the mills disappeared, or If they
remained on the bank of the river the
machinery wh.ch once converted the giant
legs into lumber disappeared, and they
outlived their days of usefulness and
merely as landmarks, reminders Of
n departed Industry. The small factory
commenced to make it's appearance. La
borers saw the advantage of being steadily
employed all the year round, instead of
stopping work when the river froze in the
cary Whit, anu the river IOWlsIileH DC
gan TO think that perhaps the loss of the
industry was not so disastrous a
thing after all. The factories increased in
number and capacity, the men all found
employment, and the lumber mill became
a memory The rafting steamer followed
in the wake Of the departing industry, and
yearly decreased in numbers. Now but
half a dozen remain of the hundred or
more which were seen i'll the days Of old.
The lumber manufacturer retired, entered
into other pursuits, or removed to the
pine forests of Mississippi to carry on the
manufacturing industry in new
fields. But the river town did not decay
and fall into the decline which charac-
terized the lumber industry. The brick
furniture, wagon, sash and door,
and farming implement factory, and the
steel and iron foundry came to the rescue.
And although a sentimental regret may
be felt at the passage of the once great
industry, the era of the factory
and foundry promises a more healthy and
prosperity for the Mississippi river
than the mushroom growth of the
ephemeral lumber mill.