Stave mills produce the narrow strips of wood that compose the sides of barrels. Barrels were vital for the transportation of goods in the days before easily fabricated boxes and waterproof plastic containers. Stave mills were frequently established in areas where timber was being harvested so as to take advantage of the easy availability of needed resources. As such, they were an important component of local economies in Arkansas, with small towns in timber-producing areas possessing at least one, and larger cities with railroad connections often having several.
Stave mills processed either hardwood — used to make “tight,” or waterproof, barrels — or softwood, used to make “slack” barrels, or those that were used for transporting dry goods and foodstuffs. Logs were cut near the stave mill or shipped in. Depending upon the kind of stave being produced, logs were cut into 32- or 36-inch lengths; pieces meant to be “tight” staves were sent to another sawyer for proper shaping. Stave cutting was dangerous work, and injuries were common.
Stave mills were often established by Northern lumber interests to take advantage of Arkansas timberland. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, towns across the state had numerous stave mills attached to them — even fairly small towns. Woodruff County proves a good example of this. Cotton Plant had four operating in its vicinity at one time: Pioneer Stave Mill, Eckhart and Leonard Mill, and Home Stave Mill were established in the 1910s and remained in operation until 1925 or 1926, while Daggett Stave Manufacturing Co. built a mill in 1920, though it soon went under. Another mill established by the latter company by 1912 in the nearby town of Daggett, however, remained in operation until 1938. Numerous other stave mills operated in Woodruff County, such as two mills owned by Kelly Cooperage of Kansas City, Kan., in the towns of Hunter and Penrose. The Hunter mill lasted until 1938, when it was moved to DeWitt. Another mill in Augusta, in operation as early as 1912, closed in the late 1940s.
Leslie once had a stave mill operation that was advertised as the largest of its kind in the world. Shortly after the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad was extended to Leslie in 1903, the town’s first stave mill was erected. Three years later, the H.D. Williams Cooperage Co. of Poplar Bluff, Mo., moved its entire factory to Leslie. This plant covered 68 acres and produced anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 barrels a day.
As barrels began to be replaced by plastic containers, a trend that took hold especially during the World War II years, stave mills closed. A few remain in business across the country, however, making barrels either for decoration or for use by wineries and distilleries. Gibbs Brothers Cooperage in Hot Springs still assembles barrels, though it has not produced its own staves since the 1970s.
Several places across Arkansas apparently take their names after stave mills: Both Pope and Marion counties possess a geographical feature dubbed Stave Mill Hollow, while Cleveland County has a town called Staves; just below the Missouri state line at the Craighead–Greene county line is Stave Island, while south of that, spanning the border of Crittenden and Mississippi counties, is Stave Lake.
In July, the Independent Stave Co., a manufacturer of high-quality oak barrels and cooperage products, broke ground for a state-of-the-art mill facility in the Batesville area to produce staves for use in bourbon and wine barrels. The company, which is considered the largest barrel maker in the world, announced plans to invest more than $30 million in the facility and create dozens of new jobs.
— EOA staff
This story is adapted by Guy Lancaster from the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas, a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. Visit the site at encyclopediaofarkansas.net.
Lasater and Bailor Stave Mill at Earle (Crittenden County). (Courtesy of the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System)
Wrape Stave Factory at Paragould (Greene County); circa early 20th century (Courtesy of the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System)
