The Mill Property of Valley Head, Alabama
by John E. Holleman
March 2003
Around 1920, two brothers, Paul N. Davenport, and William Overton Davenport acquired an 8 acre tract of land adjacent to the east side of the Alabama Great Southern Railroad and just north of the town square of Valley Head, Alabama. Over the years this property has become known simply as the mill property and several businesses have operated on this site during that time. Of these, the most prominent were the Valley Head Lumber Company, the Valley Head Cabinet Shop (1950-1960), the C&H Lumber Company, and the Valley Head Hardware. A short history of each of these businesses in presented below.
The Valley Head Lumber Company Early 1920s - 1962
Around 1920, Paul and Ovie Davenport established the Valley Head Lumber Company by purchasing the mill property from a man named Atchinson who had previously built a sawmill and planer on the property. The planer was housed in a wood frame shed next to the railroad tracks and immediately north of the drainage ditch which cuts across the property from east to west. The planer shed is the oldest building on the property and still stands today in its original location. Over the years, the Davenport brothers expanded the lumber business and added several buildings to the property. One of the key buildings for the lumber operation was the boiler room which housed a large steam boiler and underpinned a tall smokestack. The boiler room utilized sawdust and shavings as fuel to produce steam which powered the sawmill and planer. On top of the boiler room was a large stem whistle. When the lumber mill was in operation, this whistle was blown at the beginning and end of each work day and at the beginning and end of the lunch hour each day. The whistle was loud enough to be heard all over town and even on top of Lookout Mountain. Steam from the boiler was also used as the heat source for a large dry kiln that was built during the 1930s. The boiler room, the dry kiln, and the sawmill building were all torn down several years ago. During the 1930s, four houses were built on the north and south ends of the property. Workers for the mill occupied these houses for many years. Three out of the four houses still stand and are still in use.
In the late 1920s, the Davenport brothers started a cotton gin business on the mill property. The metal gin building was erected for this purpose, and it still stands today in its original location. A rectangular wood frame structure known as the seed house was also built at about this time. This building was first located astraddle of the drainage ditch and was used to store cotton seed recovered during the ginning operation. Some time in the 1960s, this building was moved to its present location about a hundred feet north of the drainage ditch. In 1927, the wood frame warehouse building was erected adjacent to the railroad tracks on the northern half of the property. The original purpose of this building was to store cotton bales. The office for both the lumber business and the cotton gin was located in the south end of this warehouse. After World War II, part of this building was converted into a hardware and building supplies store. Also after World War II, the north end of the ware house was converted into a carpenter's shop which eventually became the Valley Head Cabinet Shop.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Davenport brothers operated both a lumber company and a cotton gin on the mill property. During World War II, the lumber part of the business became dominant, and the cotton ginning business was discontinued. During World War ii, demand for lumber was at a peak, and the Valley Head Lumber Company had as many as 20 employees. Some parts of the operation, such as firing the boiler, were carried out on an around the clock schedule. Dressed lumber was loaded onto railroad boxcars directly from a loading platform located at the rear of the planer shed.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Valley Head Lumber Company underwent a major transformation from lumber manufacturer to building supplies retailer. In 1956, Ovie Davenport sold his interest in the lumber company to his brother, Paul, and together with on of his sons, William Overton Davenport, Jr., purchased the Gulf Oil distributorship fro DeKalb County. This business was based in Fort Payne, Alabama and operated for many years under the name Davenport Gas and Oil. Paul Davenport continued to operate the Valley Head Lumber Company until his death in 1960. His wife, Edith Davenport, and his son, Paul N. Davenport, Jr., operated the business for a short time after his death and eventually sold the business to the C&H Lumber Company around 1962.
At one time or another, many area residents worked for the Valley Head Lumber Company and contributed to its success, In the years prior to World War II, the chief hand was Homer Clark. He was responsible for setting up and maintaining the machinery used to saw and dress the lumber. He also supervised much of the day to day work in the lumber mill. After World War II began, Mr. Clark moved out of the area to take another job. Mr. Wallace Lacy took over the responsibilities Mr. Clark had held. Mr. Lacy and his wife were killed in 1953 in a terrible car-train collision at the crossing just south of the mill property. One of his sons, Bobby, was seriously injured in that accident and eventually lost a leg as a result of the collision. Following Mr. Lacy's death, Clyde "Dough" Crow became the chief hand and held that job until the Valley Head Lumber Company stopped lumber manufacturing operations in 1960.
Others who worked for the Valley Head Lumber Company include Otis Dean, George "Peavine" White, Bill Morrow, Ervin Gibson, M. P. "Fid" Clark, "Doc" Clark, "Roundeye" Clark, Floyd Young, Bill Harwood, Leo Harwood, Hugh Harwood, Don Harwood, "Boo Boo" Harwood, Floyd Haney, William "Jug" Crow, Ted Holleman, Mack Rector, Marvin Rector, J. B. White, Jess Lewis and many other.