Sawmills at Town of Clarksville
from Clarksville Sesquicentennial Book, 1835-1985
A Log of Sawmill Information - Town of Clarksville
Joseph Palmer erected a sawmill in 1828 on the site now occupied by Joseph Slayton’s steam sawmill.
A Mr. Galloway built a sawmill on 1ot 33 which went to decay many years ago.
Dusenbury and Congdon built another mill some time after, about 40 rods farther up the stream, and that was burned in 1861.
The land upon which these mills stood was owned by J. C. Wright.
1853, Joseph Slayton, who held the distinction of being the 1st child born in the vicinity in 1823 built a water power mill on the old sawmill site and in 1873 it was connected into a steam power mill and was capable of sawing 2,000,000. feet of lumber per annum.
Ryder’s water power sawmill, located on Wolf Creek was built in 1853 by W.B. Ryder and sawed 300,000. feet of lumber per annum.
By 1855 there were at least eight sawmills between Clarksville and Obi, a distance of about three miles and the clearing of land began in earnest. Land at that time could be bought for $1.25 acre.
Another place I read that the 1st sawmill was erected by Samuel King on Dodge Creek in 1832.
I understand that Fred Slayton told Clifford Graves some years ago that his great grandfather Slayton had a saw mill across creek and sawed lumber for the house that Clifford Graves lives in.
The Congdon .Sawmill was back of store here in town.
Lawrence Sisson, Sr. remembers Wagoner’s sawmill on Wolf Run Rd. in back of Ted Wagoner’s house.
Walter Hunt had a sawmill by Ernout place. Bert Peckhams sawmill this side of pond at Obi.
Henry Sisson and Sons by Dean Sisson’s home.
LAD Lumber Co. and later Dutton’s sawmill.
Mill back of Cooper place and Fred Ryder had a sawmill.
Walter Hunt sawed main timbers for Sisson’s mill.
PHOTOS TAKEN 1985 OR EARLIER:
Sawmill owned by Lewis Pitzrick and sold to LAD LUMBER. Owners of LAD LUMBER: Lyle Wells, Al Monahan and Dick Hedden. It was later bought by DUTTON LUMBER.
Timbers of the once Anson Congdon, Sr. saw mill. It was in operation about 1876.