Early Onalaska

William Carlisle sent L.O.. Jackson to Polk County, Texas in 1903 and, with the help of Judge J.E. Hill and R.T. Stone, he purchased thousands of acres of land between the selected mill site and Trinity, Groveton, Corrigan and east of Livingston. The price paid for the land was approximately $5 per acre. This included land and mineral rights.

Mr. Jackson moved to Onalaska, Texas in 1904 to begin construction of the mill. He brought with him from Arkansas about 30 men, among whom were Oscar Agee, Phate Bailey, Like Gore John Hayes, Dan Moore and J.H. Wright, many of whose descendants are still members of the community today.

L.O. Jackson was the town's founder and mill superintendent from 1905 until 1917.

The town was divided by Main Street, which was all white quarters. A creek separated the whites and the blacks. The blacks had about 40 houses and the whites had about 35 houses west of Main Street and 35 houses east of Main Street. The Mexican's quarters were still further east of the white quarters. It has been told that the Mexican quarters were known as the red quarters because the houses were all painted red.

The married employees at the sawmill all had houses furnished to them for $5.00 a month including lights and water. The average pay was $1.50 a day. On payday the employees were paid in cash through the Onalaska Exchange Bank.

The railroad depot at Onalaska was located on Main Street about three-fourths of a mile south of the company store and had a sidewalk all the way to the store.

There was always lots of good clean fun, such as on the Fourth of July and Juneteenth when the lumber company furnished all the meat for the barbecues held in the two block square park. In the fall of the year carnivals, merry-go-rounds, and other amusement park rides would act up in the park. Others also remember singsongs that were held there from time to time.

Onalaska had two baseball teams, one white and one black. The company furnished the uniforms and the equipment. The teams would practice after work and play their games on Sunday afternoons and on holidays.

The electricity for the mill and community was supplied by two 150 kilowatt machines. These artisan wells also supplied the water for the community as it flowed into a large wooden tank at the rear of the main office building.

The L.O. Jackson, C.J. Rogan House, the large office building, and one of the hotels were located on Front Street, which ran east and west. The office building covered an entire block with living quarters upstairs for office and store personnel. The downstairs level housed the Onalaska Exchange Bank and vault, the bookkeeping and general offices, C. J. Rogan's office and the doctor's office.

The town had two hotels. One hotel had twenty-five rooms and large dining rooms. The other hotel had thirteen rooms and a dining room. Located between the hotels was a hospital that had six beds and a large operating room. The company store sold just about everything the people of the community ever needed. The store had ten departments: drugs; tobacco; groceries; cosmetics; jewelry; ladies' dresses; 'piece goods'; men's clothing; shoes, hardware; furniture and Caskets. The Masonic Lodge was located over the store. The Post Office was located in the store also, but the Postal authorities requested it be moved to the boiler house across from the main offices. That way, people could have access to postal facilities twenty-four hours a day. The original post office was located about one mile north of the community.

Across from Front Street to the south was the large boiler that furnished steam heat to the offices, the store, and the homes of L. 0. Jackson and C. J. Rogan. Also across the street was a twenty ton ice plant that furnished ice for all the mill's needs as well as ice delivery to the homes. Ice was priced at ten cents for fifty pounds. The plant had underground lines that ran up to the company story to the twelve walk-in coolers that were kept at around thirty degrees. The coolers were in the meat market, and had four train car loads of meat shipped from Kan Kansas each month.

The married employees of the Carlisle-Pennel Lumber Company all had homes furnished to them by the company for $5 per month, which included lights and water. The salary was $300 per month, an amount unheard of back in those days. On pay days, the employees were paid in cash at the Onalaska Exchange Bank.

There were other businesses located in Onalaska that were not company-owned or connected. A.S. Smith and his son Jerry bought a tract of land south of Bushy Creek and put in a feed and grocery store. Dick Alston, Sr. had charge of the blacksmith business and also did in-the-woods repairing, mule shoeing, saw repairs and other repairs pertaining to farm and lumber machinery. Wiley and Keenan Peebles owned and operated the tin shop and put gutters on all the houses on Front Street and the hotels. The hotel gutters were at least forty feet off the ground and thirty feet in the rear. This was considered to be quite a feat.

Robert Thompson had the first and only auto garage located on the west side of Main Street. There was also a two-room schoolhouse on the site where the Baptist Church is now. The school had three teachers. Professor J.H. Taylor was the principal. There were also two doctors, a bakery, and a three-chair barber shop.

Mr. Carlisle donated a plat of land south of Onalaska to the Methodist Church; they built a church on the exact plot of land that was deeded to them, with the understanding that Mr.Jackson would be on their board of directors, so that the property would be protected from any misuse and would not be sold for any other purpose. This raised quite a row, since W. Jackson was senior deacon in the Baptist Church at the same time.

The railroad depot at Onalaska was located on Main Street about three-fourths of a mile south of the company store. There was a wooden walk from the depot all the way to the store. On special days, like the Fourth of July and County Fair Day in Livingston, the railroad would run excursions to Livingston in three flat cars which had built-in bench seats on either side of the cars. Large cans of ice water were supplied in the center of each car. The trips would begin at six a.m. and returned at twelve midnight.

There were other kinds of entertainment depending on the time of the year. There was a picture show owned by W.P. Christman. In front of the picture show was a park, two blocks by two blocks in size, facing Main Street. In the fall of the year carnivals, merry-go-rounds and other amusement park rides would be set up in the park.

The Sawmill

As the mill grew, so did the town. At one time Onalaska had three sawmills; two pine and one hardwood. At this time the Onalaska population was greater than that of Livingston and the Onalaska sawmill owned by Carlisle-Pennel Lumber Company was believed to be the largest in Texas.

The Carlisle-Pennel sawmill had nine boilers and two cutting bank saws. The electricity for the entire community and the mill was supplied by two 150-kilowatt machines by direct current.

The log pond covered thirty acres across a small creek. It was also supplied by the overflow of two artesian wells. These artesian wells supplied the community's water system that flowed into a large wooden tank in the rear of the main office building.

The drying kiln had eight rooms and was supplied by steam from the sawmill. The planer mill had twelve machines of different types and a long shipping runway for loading railroad cars. There were three sheds that housed the dry planed lumber.

The Carlisle company sold the Onalaska sawmill in 1912 to Jim West from Houston for four million dollars with the stipulation that Mr. Jackson continue managing. Mr. Jackson retired in 1917, but the mill continued to operate until 1924, and the town settled down into a long slumber from which she was only recently wakened by the kiss of the water from Lake Livingston.

The following Is from the March 7, 1907 Polk County Enterprise.

The junior editor, W.L. West, in company with Sheriff S.C. Chapman made a trip to Onalaska last Wednesday.

This being our first trip to this place we were somewhat surprised to see the many improvements being made by the Carslile company.

There are five or six hundred people employed by this company, and neither pains nor money is being spared in making this one the most modern and up-to-date mills in the South.

Two large two-story hotels have been erected to accommodate the employees of the place. One, the Hunter House being under the Management of Mrs. D.S. Hunter, and the other being managed by Mrs. Walker.

The small mill which is now running on full time is cutting about sixty or seventy, thousand feet per day, and the planers are turning out the dressed lumber ready for shipment.

This mill is equipped with its own electric light plant and waterworks. A large artesian well is flowing which furnishes an ample supply of water for the mill, but the water from this well is not so good for drinking water, and another artesian well is to be sunk by Mr. Wanaker, of Houston. Bath houses have been erected at the mill, well furnished and equipped with shower baths.

The new mill, which is under way of construction when completed will be one of the finest in the South. The whole foundation which. is 200 feet by 66 feet is solid concrete four feet under the surface. Two band and gang saws will be installed at the new mill. Several brick dry kilns are now being built, and improvements of every kind are going on. Buildings are now being erected every day, and the carpenters and painters are being kept busy. Every residence is a well built frame building and will be furnished with electric lights.

Street lights have already been put in.

We had the pleasure of meeting the accommodating and enterprising manager of the mill, Mr. L.O. Jackson. He was very busy, looking after the interest of the company.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. C.J. Rogan, who is general manager of the Beaumont and Great Northern Railway. He is a very courteous and accommodating gentleman and informed us that the bids were to be let on Monday of this week for the grading of the railroad from Onalaska to Livingston. He also stated that they expected the tracks to reach Livingston soon.