Admin at 20:43, 20 August 2007

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The [[Thurston area]] gained its only sawmill in about [[1919]] (Jones 1958:36). According to a [[Springfield News]] article dated April 9, [[1986]], owner [[Williams, George|George Williams]] dug a millrace connecting a natural backwater of the [[McKenzie River]] with [[Cedar Flat Creek]] and built a sawmill which he operated until [[1936]]. At that time he sold his millsite to the [[Eugene-Springfield Land and Water Company]]. The new owners decided that money could be made by supplying irrigation water to the fertile fields in north [[Springfield]]. The company installed a headgate near the old millsite and constructed a 40-foot wide canal that at one time ran from near the intersection of [[Thurston Road (Springfield)|Thurston Road]] and the [[McKenzie Highway]] west to farms in what is now the [[Gateway area]] (Springfield News 1986). When the scheme did not pay off, the company shut down the operation and went out of business in [[1940]].

[[Category:Springfield residents (1900s)]] [[Category:Thurston area]]

Williams, George - Revision history

Admin at 20:43, 20 August 2007