D. E. McInnis (1901-1905)

McInnis Lumber Co. (1906-1920)

Standard gauge, 35-lb rail Headquarters: Hattiesburg Mill Locations: Hattiesburg, MS (Forrest Co.) 1901-05                           Petal, MS (Forrest Co.) 1906-1920 Mill Capacity: 60,000 ft/day (Petal Mill) Years of Operation: 1901-1920 Miles Operated: 11 miles in 1913 Locomotives Owned:	Equipment:	Click Maps for Larger Versions
History by Gil Hoffman: D. Emmett McInnis began his sawmill career in 1892. After two and a half years he had saved $300, enough to get started in the mercantile business, in which he continued until January 1, 1898. At that time he bought 320 acres of yellow pine timber and built a small mill with a cutting capacity of 10,000 feet per day. He later purchased half interest in the Rich Lumber & Mfg. Co., at Hattiesburg. In 1901, after selling his interest in this company, he bought a sawmill of 25,000 feet daily capacity which operated until 1905 and was a financial success. This last mill enabled him to accumulate enough capital to start his even larger mill at Petal, Miss.  The McInnis Lumber Company was incorporated “near” Hattiesburg, Perry County, on March 17, 1906 by D. E. McInnis, J. S. Turner and H. Ogden with authorized capital stock of $30,000. D. Emmett McInnis was president and H. Ogden, secretary and treasurer. On December 19, 1905 a mill site was leased In Petal, Perry County, from M. A. Smith, on the south side of the mill of the Louis Werner Saw Mill Company. The site was across the Leaf River from Hattiesburg, on the main line of the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad. In January 1906 construction began on a sawmill with a cutting capacity of 60,000 feet per day. This mill made a specialty of heavy timbers and car material. The initial timber holdings, bought in 1906, consisted of 4,500 acres.  On May 15, 1913 for $313,850 the company bought 8,000 acres of pine stumpage from the J. J. Newman Lumber Company, and by September 1913 had built a new tram road into this timber. This timber, the last purchased, was finally cut in 1920, after which the mill closed.   For a detailed history of this operation see: Steam Whistles in the Piney Woods Volume 2, by Gilbert H. Hoffman
ROSTER by Gil Hoffman:  Hattiesburg Mill:    Road No.   Type   Builder   C.N.   Date   Cyls.   Dri. Dia.   Engine Wt.   Previous Ownership   Disposition   ?   0-4-0T   Porter           6x10   23½   12000   Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. D. E. McInnis, on 12/17/1901.   Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. Alabama Consolidated Coal & Iron Co., on 3/26/1906.  Petal Mill:      Road No.   Type   Builder   C.N.   Date   Cyls.   Dri. Dia.   Engine Wt.   Previous Ownership   Disposition   1   No Data                           Secondhand.   Lyndon Lumber Co., Wingate, MS, ca. 1908. Subject of lawsuit over poor condition of locomotive.   2   0-4-4F     Davenport   164   1/1906   10x14       32000   New. Named Ella.   Probably sold after mill cut out.   101   2-6-0   Davenport   1430   8/1913   12x18       42000   New. Named George. Cost $5,800.   (tentative) Love Lumber Co., Poplarville, MS, in 1920.

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