Saturday, May 07, 2022

The Phillips Brothers Mill, near Oak Run, California, the last fully steam powered mill in America and is still operated by the family, all mill machinery is powered by stationary steam engines, little changed since it was first constructed. Probably has existed longer than any of the companies that made the equipment


and this is the scratch built truck that moves the saw dust 
 












in 1897, when he was twenty-five, Ed Phillips bought the iron head plates from the dismantled Myers Mill for twenty-five dollars apiece to make the log carriage for the sawmill he was building on North Cow Creek. These same head plates have been used in each progressive stage of the Phillips Mill -- from Muley wheel (overshot water wheel) -- to Pelton wheel and penstock -- to steam power -- a span of 106 years.

The first board was cut May 4, 1898. This mill was run on day and night shifts by Ed and one of his brothers, Frank Phillips. Old kerosene lanterns hung on beams and brackets furnished light. Frank cut by night and Ed sorted and stacked by day.

Fire destroyed their first mill on May 3, 1913. At this time the partnership was dissolved between Ed and Frank, and Frank eventually moved to Chico. The following year the mill was rebuilt as a portable mill when Dan, another brother, became a partner. 






They shipped a 1910 Best tractor from Chico to Bella Vista and Dan drove it from there to the mill site on Cow Creek. This steam tractor, built in San Leandro, California, was used at the Phillips mills from 1914 until 1938 when it was replaced by a caterpillar tractor. Even so, it was occasionally used for demonstrations and odd jobs until 1957. This steam tractor made a complete changeover in logging by eliminating entirely the "horse logging". 



The first little logging truck, which had been built in 1905, was now supplemented by a larger truck to haul tandem loads. This truck, like the first, was constructed by hand of native black oak in Ed's blacksmith shop. Wheels were cross sections of Ponderosa pine forty-two inches in diameter, fifteen inches thick at the hub and curved with a spokeshave to ten-inch rims. Handmade squared and sharpened pegs of red fir ten inches long were driven closely into the wheels to strengthen them.


 Axles were made of iron shafting purchased at the Bella Vista Box Factory and the hubs were cast by the Redding Iron Works.






1906 Best traction engine and a 1909 Case

4 comments:

  1. This post was simply delicious,thanks.

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    1. you are very welcome! Glad you are enjoying the stuff I'm sharing!

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  2. This is literally the Best-Case scenario...

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    Replies
    1. lol, I thought the same thing

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