The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-30
Virginia Seat Of Biggest
Lumber Enterprise on
the Atlantic Coast.
.SURRY LUMBER CO.:
ITS GREAT WORKS
Flourishing Town in surry Coun.
ty That Has Grown Up Around
the Lumber Mills - Den
dron Model Town of
Banks, Good Schools
and Churches.
by FRANC s. WOODSON,
Industrial Editor.

| by FRANK s. wOODSON,
Industrial Editor.
Dendron. Va, January 29.-Yester-
day morning, with grip in hand. I
was making my way to the depot in
Richmond when a friend asked ma
where l was going. When the reply
was given, ito Dendron," he asked:
where in thc--where on the map Is
Dendron?" had but vague
idea myself at the time of it's Local
ton and Importance, but I can now
tell him and all the balance of the
world about Dendron. one of yirginIa.s
new and hustling towns, regular red
letter" town. for all of the buildings
of its biggest enterprise arc painted
red.
Away back yonder in the eighties
the immense forests and timber poss
sibilities Of the counties of Surry.
sussex. southampton and Isle Of Wight
attracted the attention of General
Francis E. Walters. a Baltimore capt
| taltst, and associa ting with him other
| Maryland capitalists he came down
| this way to invest. and they have in
| vested largely in the four counties
| named.
Having bought UP many acres OF
heavily timbered lands and the ti,nbcr
| rights on many thousands of other
| acres, they commenced to plan for the
beginning OF what has become tha
largest numbering plant on the At
lantic coast between Maine and Florida,
| Possibly there is one establishment
| that is a little larger, but 1t is bet
! lieved that within the past two years
! the surry Lumber Company has gottes
| somewhat ahead of the famous plant
at Georgetown, S. c., thus becoming
| the very largest on the Atlantic coast.
| Looking for Mnn.
About the first thing General Wall
/ tiers did was to look around for tina
! right man to take charge of what
4 - intended should be an immense
1 business. He found the right man in
the person of Edward Rogers. an Eng
lishman. who came to this country
4 when, quite a young man and located
near stony Creek, in Sussex county.
where he established a small lumber
mill. AT the organization of the Surry
. Lumber Company in 1885. Mr.. Rogers
was made general superintendent. and
has held that all-important position
ever since. 1t was wisely decided to
X locate the mills of the company in tina
Il centre of the timber lands.
From Cross Road TO Town.
4 There was a little cross-road stora
4 right here, and in the store was a
post-oftice called Parker. A small mill
| was erected here; the name of the
place was changed from Parker to
Dendron. and from that small be-
ginning grew the town of Dendron.
which now has a population within
the corporate limits of 1900 or more,
and in the suburbs several hundred
more people. who are dependent upon
I the mills. live and move and havs
! their being.
In 1856 the company. with its own
money. built the Surry. Sussex and
Southampton Railway. a narrow gauge
/ line from Dendron to Scotland. on the
James River opposite Jamestown. and
| later extended it in the other direc-
ton to Wakefield. on the Norfolk
| and Western. and later still. on to
Dory, in Southampton county
| Fires Are blessings.
A fire came along In the year 1894
| and totally destroyed the mills, to,
gether with 100000 feet OF lumber.
This blaze. like the fires that some-
times occur in other towns. was a
blessing in disguise so far as tha
then coming town of Dendron was
concerned. for the company imme-
| diately decided to rebuild on a mora
extensive and more up-to-date plan
the destroyed plant. They erected
. larger and better mills, and more OF
them, and equipped them all with tho
most modern of lumber-cutting mas
chinery, and in a word set on foot
the real work that has made Dendron
the seat of the biggest lumber plant
on the Atlantic coast.
| This fire was really the beginning
of Dendron, and the town grew slowly
from that date to 1901, in which year
the Surry Lumber Company doubled
its sawmllling capacity. doubled its
working force and as matter OF
course doubled it's pay-rolls. They
also added planning mills, which re-
qulred still more working force, and
also established box and shook fac-'
tories with a capacity of $4,000 baxea
per day.
Looking After Little Things.
Later on the company put in an-
. other department that is real
i curiosity. They call it the splinter
t factory" It is the place where all
of the waste timber that can't be used
!, on the ground is taken in hand. sawed
into kindling wood. packed into little
bundles tied in convenient form,
:, loaded on the cars to be taken 10
Scotland. on the James River, where
!, 1t is reloaded on harges and conveyed
to Philadelphia, where it brings
fancy price as llindling wood. All
this work of saving up and bupdling
chinery. only a limited force or boyc
and girls, that Is TO say. cheap labor.
being required in the business,
The sawdust from tho sawmills, tho
bark from the logs, the bark boards
and slabs that are useless as timber.
the trimmings from the poH ana stioofs
factories, tho leaFings from tho
planning mills, and, in fact. every
}, splinter and piece OF wood thar can@
+ not be used TO better advantage id
taken up and conveyed BY machinery
10 the power rooms, where they ba.
. come fuel for the mammoth sseam
y engines that run the whole plant. Thus
the waste Is used In furnishing power
, TO rur the Immense machinery, and
= 1T is doubtful IL the SurrY Lun,bef
7 Company pays Out an much Tor coal
d MS does an ordinary household IN Eichs
: mond because they haze learned how