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Miller Lumber
Thrives In Difficult Times
Jackson, Tenn.— In an era where the words innovation and streamlining are as common as
right and left, Miller Lumber Co., located here, continues to thrive using time-proven methods and long term
quality employees.
Situated on 14 acres, the company’s main
office is located at the site of the Jackson
mill. Office administration Ava West and
Janet Street offer a welcoming smile and a
bit of company history. A physical account
of times past, a filing cabinet inscribed by
hand with the year 1926 remains in the
office as a testament that the 86-year-old
company has withstood the test of time.
Throughout the years, Miller Lumber Co.
has served markets from cabinets and furniture,
even automobile bodies and more
recently, railroad ties and mat material. With
a Cleereman carriage, a Corley edger, a two
saw edger, end trimmer and a 6-foot band
head rig, Fulghum debarker and chipper,
the Jackson sawmill cuts Oak,
Ash, Poplar and Sap Gum among
other species.
Formerly catering to the cabinet and
furniture markets, the company has
found a niche in a “hot” market today
with railroad ties. “We jumped into
the railroad tie market ahead of a lot
of people. We are in a good position,
having our own timberlands we are
able to match what we cut with
demand,” President Bobby
Henderson said.
A seasoned veteran of the industry,
Henderson has been employed at
Miller Lumber Co. for approximately
58 years. His father partnered with
company founder Elmer Miller in
1929, and Henderson began working
around the mill at an early age.
When the company officially hired
Henderson, he was sent to Demopolis, Ala.
to groom a newly operating mill that had
burned in 1949. He came to Jackson to take
over for his father after a serious illness and
later became president of the company.
Henderson attributes the success of the
long-standing company to quality relationships
with both customers and employees.
“We have built long term relationships that
we can depend on,” he said. “Price does play
a role in that there are long time customers
that we sell cheaper than what they can get it
for on the outside market and doing business
that way always swings back around. When
things turn the other way, these same customers
will give me premium price because
they know it’s going to turn.”
As for the large amount of timberland
owned by Miller Lumber Co., Henderson
says most of it was acquired in the 1930’s
and 40’s. “This timberland was mostly
acquired by our predecessors,” he said.
The company founder, Elmer Miller, purchased
Louisville Pointe Lumber Co. in
Jackson around 1923 along with timberland
in the surrounding area. Over the next few
decades he purchased timberland in
Alabama and Mississippi.
In 1950 Miller Lumber Co. built a guesthouse
in Selma, Ala. for traveling customers.
“During that time there really wasn’t
a place for people from out of town to stay.
Gordon Street is the general manager of Miller Lumber Co.; Janet Street is in office
administration; Bobby Henderson is the president of the company; Ava West is secretary/treasurer;
and Randy Fondren is the yard manager and lumber inspector at the
company’s Jackson headquarters.
So we built the guesthouse for our customers
who were visiting our office and our operations
in Selma,” Henderson said.
Today, most of the company’s logs come
from the Hatchie River bottom on privately
owned timberland. Henderson commented
about the quality of the southern timber.
“Our bottom timber is our best timber. Like
any bottom, it’s got high places and low
places. In the high areas we get good
Cherrybark, Red Oak and White Oak. Our
timberland has a good mix of water tolerant
species,” he said.
Utilizing 25 percent of outside timber at
this location, the other 75 percent comes
BY WAYNE MILLER
from their own 100,000 acres of timberland
spread out across Alabama, Mississippi and
Tennessee.
Key employees at Miller Lumber Co.’s
Jackson headquarters include Bobby
Henderson, president; Gordon Street, general
manager; Ava West, secretary/treasurer;
Janet Street, office administration and
Randy Fondren, yard manager and lumber
inspector.
On 48 acres of industrial land, Miller
South, just an hour away in Middleton,
Tenn., was originally purchased as a log
concentration yard. “The initial plan was to
purchase logs in Middleton and send them
back to Jackson,” Henderson said.
“The previous owner had a mill
there and he kept a log yard at the
mill site for us. A few years ago we
bought that tie mill and it turned out
to be a good investment.”
All foresting for the company is
done internally. Vice president and
general manager for Miller South,
Albert Carter, handles log procurement
and oversees the logging crew
among other things.
Carter’s wife, Tommie, is head of
office administration for the
Middleton location. James “Peanut”
Hopper is part of the logging crew
and is also responsible for trapping
beavers on the land. “Peanut has
trapped 714 beaver in the last year
and a half,” Carter said.
With approximately 60 employees
between the two locations, the team
at Miller Lumber Co. and Miller
South consists of mostly long time employees.
“We have good quality people. Some of
them have been with us for 25 years or
more,” Henderson said.
Talking about his 58-year career in a successful
business, Henderson chuckled and
said that he didn’t always intend to be in the
sawmill business and that at a few points in
his career he said he was only temporarily
“helping out.”
“Last time I said I was only going to help
for a month or two—that was 57 years ago.
But it’s been good, I’ve enjoyed it,” he said
with a smile. When asked what made him
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24 Hardwoods Have Versatility