J.J. Newman Lumber Company Records

The J. J. Newman Lumber Company operated in Hattiesburg, Mississippi from approximately 1894-1943. The company was founded by Judson Jones Newman, a veteran lumberman who had been involved in the hemlock manufacturing business in Pennsylvania prior to his arrival in Hattiesburg. The plant was located in the southeastern sector of the city, at the end of Buschman and Newman Streets. The site was originally occupied by the Wiscassett mill, which burned in 1893. Shortly thereafter, the property was purchased by the J. J. Newman company, and a new mill was erected. The massive sprawling complex, with its planing mills, sorting sheds, dry kilns, finish sheds, and sundry other structures, covered ten acres, and within a decade of its inception it had become the largest lumber company in Mississippi, and one of the largest in the entire South.

The phenomenal growth of the company can be attributed largely to the business acumen of Fenwick L. Peck, founder of the Lackawanna Lumber Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Since both Peck and Newman had ties to Pennsylvania, it is altogether likely that they were acquainted prior to Peck's association with the Newman company. At any rate, Peck visited Hattiesburg in 1896, and envisioning a boom in the yellow pine lumber business, he purchased the controlling interest in the Newman Lumber Company. The addition of new capital and Peck's dynamic leadership enabled the company to expand its timber holdings and increase its production capabilities. At its peak of production, the company owned 400,000 acres of timberlands and produced 75,000,000 board feet of lumber per year.

Timberlands to feed Mississippi's lumber industry were acquired in a variety of ways. For example, in the late nineteenth century, the state's pine lands were considered relatively worthless, because they were unsuited for agriculture. As a result, virgin timber stands could be purchased for a paltry $1.25 per acre. Another source of lands was Mississippi's institutions of higher learning. During the 1890's the federal government bestowed grants in excess of 22,000 acres to each of the state's existing public IHL's: The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss); Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Alcorn University; The Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Mississippi State University); and The Industrial Institute and College (now Mississippi University for Women). With the exception of Ole Miss, all the schools sold their lands to lumbermen between 1895 and 1902. Other lands were acquired from federal land grants made to railroads. A case in point is the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (mainline from Gulfport to Jackson, Mississippi) which was offered 120 sections of land for each 20 miles of track laid. The net gain was 100,000 acres of land which the railroad sold to various lumbermen. In acquiring its timber holdings, the J. J. Newman Company employed all the above-mentioned means.

Since the lumber industry was inexorably linked to railroading, the Newman Company opted to build its own rail line for transporting logs from its timberlands to the mill. The first increment was a nineteen-mile track from Hattiesburg to Sumrall, built in 1897. In November of that year the railroad was incorporated as the Pearl and Leaf Rivers Railroad Company, and a short time later, two sawmills were constructed at Sumrall to supply the Hattiesburg plant. According to the railroad's original charter, the western terminus of the line was to have been Columbia, but it was eventually extended to Brookhaven. In 1905 the name of the line was changed to the Mississippi Central Railroad, and by 1908 the Natchez and Eastern Railway line from Natchez to Brookhaven had been absorbed by the Mississippi Central Railroad, creating an unbroken rail line from Hattiesburg to Natchez. This line provided access to the Gulf of Mexico and points beyond the Mississippi River for the Newman Company, as well as numerous other mills that sprang up along its length.

The principal products of the Newman Lumber Company were yellow pine lumber, timbers, and lath (narrow strips of wood used as a base for plaster). Substantial quantities of poplar, gum, oak, and cypress lumber were produced as well. In addition, the plant operated a box factory which utilized short lumber and scrap materials that would otherwise have been burned. Products manufactured were crating and box shooks (bundles of parts ready to be assembled into boxes). The company also maintained a naval stores organization and sold large quantities of turpentine and rosin.

Products of the Newman Company were widely distributed to both domestic and foreign markets. In the United States, the market extended primarily from east of the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Seaboard. Sales to foreign markets were handled through the American Pitch Pine Export Company of New Orleans, and included such destinations as South America, Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, Europe, and Africa.

The importance of the Newman Lumber Company to Hattiesburg's economy cannot be overstated. In its heyday, it employed 1200 people and had the capacity to produce 200,000 board feet of lumber per day. As early as 1898, it was said that the company manufactured enough lumber in one year to "make a plank walk, five inches wide around the entire globe." Due to the company's presence, Hattiesburg became an important headquarters for buyers of yellow pine lumber, and by 1911, thirty lumber wholesalers maintained offices in the city. The significance of the industry was further exemplified by the community's response when the mill was destroyed by fire in 1908. The estimated cost of rebuilding was $150,000, and to offset the expense, the company requested certain tax exemptions from the city of Hattiesburg and a donation of land from the citizens of Forrest County. Both requests were granted, with the money for the land purchase (ca. $2000) being raised by private subscription. The company reciprocated for the community's generosity on several occasions. In 1910, an offer was made to donate 640 acres of land to the Mississippi Normal College if Hattiesburg were chosen as its site, and in 1916 the transfer of deed to said property was finalized. Then in 1917, the company donated much of the land on which Camp Shelby (just south of Hattiesburg) was built during World War I. In addition, a spur line from the Mississippi Central Railroad was built to transport workers to the site.

Judson Jones Newman died on Christmas Day, 1900 of complications following a paralytic stroke, however the company continued to operate under the Newman name. The business prospered until the 1930's when the timber supply began to dwindle, and by 1935, Newman's timberlands were completely exhausted. At that point, sawing operations at the Hattiesburg plant were ceased, but the company continued to operate until all inventory and equipment had been disposed of (approximately 1943).

No history of the J. J. Newman Lumber Company would be complete without mentioning its affiliate, the Homochitto Lumber Company, and touching briefly on the extent of Fenwick L. Peck's investment in Mississippi. In 1901, Peck combined his lumber interests in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Mississippi to form the United States Lumber Company, and by 1905, U. S. Lumber's total investment in timberlands, sawmills and railroads in Mississippi amounted to $26 million. Further expansion of the company occurred in 1911, when the Homochitto Lumber Company at Brookhaven was added to its holdings. In order to supply the new company, another sawmill and town were built at Bude, Mississippi. In 1917, Mr. S. E. Moreton of Brookhaven was named general manager of both the Newman and Homochitto Companies, with headquarters at Brookhaven. Mr. Moreton continued as general manager until the company's demise in about 1943, and served on U. S. Lumber's Board of Directors until approximately 1950. The Newman Company remained a subsidiary of U. S. Lumber until at least 1959, but its only assets were some 93,000 acres of mineral lands retained after liquidation. In the intervening years, the mineral lands were leased to oil companies and explored for possible oil and gas deposits. However, no major discoveries were recorded.

On March 18, 1971, the last remnant of the J. J. Newman Lumber Company, the old office building at 808 Newman Street, was destroyed by fire, and Hattiesburg's former industrial giant faded into history.