Surry Lumber Company

The Surry Lumber Company, chartered in 1885, was among the largest producers of yellow pine lumber on the East Coast. Here at Mussel Fork Plantation, the company constructed sawmills, box mills, dry kilns, employee housing, and a commissary. The town of Dendron, named after the Greek word for tree, developed around these facilities and by 1920 had more than 2,000 residents. Surry Lumber acquired land and timber in five counties, operated a narrow-gauge railroad, and established logging camps that grew into small towns. The company's timber supply was depleted during the 1920s, and its mills closed in 1927.