The Robson Lumber Mill

by Laura Blake

…In January 1897 grading was begun at Deepwater for a railroad…. Four miles was completed in 1901 up Loup Creek to the mouth of Mulberry Branch where the band mill had been located….  The average daily yield for 4 years was 8,000 board feet.

A large store was built…. The company was known as The Trustees of the Loup Creek Estate.  The General Manager was Mr. Palmer from New York.  Austin Steed was Superintendent of the work and transportation of the lumber. John Morris was Bookkeeper and scrip clerk. Henry Nancar was lumber Sculler and Fred Stone was the Sawyer.  Thomas Kidd was yard boss as well as the boss of the Dry House….  Thomas Kelley was the Blacksmith.  He lived 3 miles above the mill, walking to and from work every day for 4 years with no loss of time…

Below the band mill – opposite the county road bridge of today was the Cut Off Mill, known as the Orphans Home.  This name was given to it because of having a working crew of very young boys, ranging in age from twelve to fifteen years, whose duty it was to take flooring and ceiling, cut out knots, making first class lumber.  Correy Steed was in charge of this work.  Among the crew of boys working was: T.C. Killey, later a Virginian Conductor; Artie Johnson, later track foremen for Loup Creek Colliery’s Page mines; Joe Kelley, later blacksmith for the mines; Bert Radford; and Harry Myers. 

Alfred Woodrum and H.H. Kincaid worked in the lumber yard.  In the mill and around the yard worked Charles Dunlap, Mr. Copeland, Isaac Kincaid, Bill Radford, Floyd Daily, J.D. Kincaid, and Pete Stevens.  Also Irvin Kidd, later a Virginian Conductor; Emerson Kincaid, later a Virginian Brakemen and John Radford who became a miner in Page.  And George Blake who later taught school and still later in the mercantile business.

The first serious accident on the four year job was that of Donnie McKinney.  He was carrying water to water the chute when a log jumped out of the chute catching his leg.  The leg had to be amputated.

Tram roads were built up Loup Creek and on its tributaries and two Dinky engines were used on the road to haul logs to the mill.  One engine was a fourteen and the other an eighteen ton.  Some of the engineers were: Henry Grose, Charlie Pickering, John Price and Henry Mounts.  Firemen were: Robert Lipscomb, Emerson Kincaid, John Kelley and J.S. Blake.

Only 2 men were seriously injured during the four years work on the log train or engines.  An engine turned off the trestle at the Kelley place scalding Robert Lipscomb and engineer Henry Grose badly.  At first little hope for recovery of either but after weeks of suffering both recovered.

There was daily Hack Service between the lumber camp and Deepwater, carrying passengers and the mail.  Major Blake was in charge of this service…. The post office was named Robson in honor of an early family in the valley.  The Postmaster and store manager was Mr. Guernsey.  Nearby was a large boarding house at the camp run by James Robson.

Among the timber contractors at Mulberry Branch was Addison Griffith and his sons Oscar and Thomas.  Addison was also a preacher of the gospel.  On Beard’s Fork the timber man was John T. Jarrett.

….In 1902 the Loup Creek Colliery Co. was chartered.  A short line was built from Deepwater to Robson (the general public believing this was built to reach valuable timber).

Laura Blake's Notes were written circa 1956.  These are excerpts concerning the Loup Creek Estate.

Around Page, WV this photograph is claimed to be a wreck of a logging train near the Robson lumber camp in the early 1900's.  It does conform to the description in the above narrative and I suspect that it is indeed said accident.