Timber

Studying faces of these woodsmen who cut timber for ACL, one wonders at their reaction to being photographed. They appear quite solemn about it. ACL, which was organized in May 1899, either owned or held timber rights to a quarter of a million acres of land in eight South Carolina counties by 1916.

Men cutting pine trees.

This interesting photo of part of the ACL mill in the foreground shows nice balance. Easily discernable are part of the thirty-six miles of rail that ran throughout the mill carrying the product from tree to lumber and then to the long shed for shipment. The large light-colored building on the left is made up of 14 kiln rooms each 20 feet wide and 104 feet long. There are 14 on the right side also. This was the largest dry kiln operation anywhere in the world about 1915. The 4 smoke stacks on the left are located on the bend of the Sampit River. Three houses on the bank (the Colber, the Parker, the Kaminski) are clearly visible as well as the U.S. Bost Office and Customs House. Behind the smokestack in the center of the picture, one can see three of the four masts of a schooner docked at the long shed (not seen) taking on cargo.