Fullerton Mill & Town

The arrival of the railroads in west central Louisiana heralded the first major population boom in Vernon Parish. Trains made travel to the area much easier -- and even more importantly, created a reliable method of transporting goods to and from the area. Lumber barons around the country seized the opportunity and began buying up the land and cutting the virgin pines. Lumber towns sprang up overnight, offering comfortable homes and a regular income to their workers. One small drawback to this was that most companies paid with paper "scrip" or tokens that could only be used in their commissary, i.e., the "company store", but the sturdy homes and steady income insured there would be no shortage of workers.

Fullerton, Louisiana was the company town of the Gulf Lumber Company. As in most lumber towns, activities were regulated by the steam whistle. The day started with the whistle and ended with the whistle. Most companies, to facilitate getting the timber to the mill, built railroad spurs that went into the woods where they were cutting the trees. Fullerton was no exception. Every morning the train hauled the men into the forest to work. Throughout the day, these same trains hauled the timber to the mill as it was cut, and at the end of the day, carried the men home.

The mills at Fullerton were made of steel and concrete, the first of that type built in the south. The average daily cut for a ten hour shift at the two mills was 350,000 feet, though at times this average was much exceeded. The lath mill produced 50,000 laths daily, plus barrel staves and headers. The turpentine distillery produced 15 barrels of turpentine spirits and 45 barrels of rosin per day. As the long leaf timber reserve began to vanish, the turpentine distillery was converted to an alcohol distillery which used extracted sugar from chipped waste woods to make the alcohol.



Modern even by today's standards, the town of Fullerton had a hospital, dentist, commissary, cafe, post office, drug store, barber shop, public telephones, bank, feed store, a jail, and even a Ford dealership. Homes were painted and had electricity and indoor plumbing. For recreation, citizens could watch a motion picture show, enjoy the public swimming pool, or cheer for the town's baseball team. The town boasted an elementary school, a high school, a Boy Scout troop, and both a Protestant and a Catholic church. According to W. T. Block, dedicated historian and guest columnist for the Beaumont Enterprise for many years, a trolley connected the town with the Jasper and Eastern Railroad (Santa Fe), as well as the Kansas City Southern and Southern Pacific.

The 1910 census listed a total of 1,550 citizens with 660 being employees of the company. Notable on this census was the fact that approximately 500 of those citizens were Afro-Americans who lived in a separate area described as being most excellent and beautiful, with painted cottages and running water. The 1920 census shows a population of 2,412 citizens and lists 41 Mexican tram track employees among the workers.

Without re-forestation, the trees couldn't last forever, and eventually the day arrived when the "last log" was cut. This distinction went to a huge long leaf pine which stood near the mill and had been selected for that purpose years earlier. Further demonstrating their appreciation for all their workers, one white and one black man were chosen for the honor of cutting the final tree on May 6, 1927. The mill had been in operation for only 20 years and had cut all the timber from 97,000 acres. The populace scattered, some buildings were sold and moved, some dismantled and carted away. Much of the cut-over land was sold to the Federal government. Some eventually became part of the Kisatchie National Forest, while some became part of the Fort Polk military reservation.

The Fullerton Mill site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Today, you may visit the ruins of this once prosperous community at the Fullerton Lake Recreation Complex in the Kisatchie National Forest. Points of interest are identified along the 1.6 mile Fullerton Mill Trail which loops around the old Mill Pond.

See more Logging in Vernon Parish

Fullerton Sawmill at Fort Polk Heritage Images

Gulf Lumber Company of Fullerton, Louisiana: A Sawmill Almost Too Large to Comprehend by W.T. Block

Fullerton Mill & Town on National Register of Historic Places

Fullerton Sawmill Town on Broussard Adventures - Adventures of an outdoor loving couple

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