Ok here is some info for ya. That fob could be dated to at least 1886, as the Eagle Lumber Co. was already established by then.
On the page at the link below, Eagle Lumber Company is listed in the Ouchita Country, Arkansas Business Directory published in 1900:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~arouachi/1900.htm
Then, go to this page:
http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/1910vol2bios34.htm
and scroll down to a bio of Edward Savage Crossett, and you can see what it says in the second paragraph I have excerpted below:
From "Vol 2 History of Davenport and Scott County" by Harry E. Downer - S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1910 Chicago:
In 1873 Mr. Crossett was united in marriage to Miss Harmony E. Clark, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and from that auspicious day dates, as he declares, his real prosperity. The two made their home in Nielsville, Wisconsin, until February, 1875, when they removed to Davenport, Iowa, where Mr. Crossett became a member of the firm of Renwick, Shaw & Crossett. Their son, Edward Clark Crossett, was born at Davenport, August 7, 1882. The same year marks Mr. Crossett's first investment in yellow pine, as one of the organizers of the Lindsay Land & Lumber Company.
In 1884 Renwick, Shaw & Crossett bought a sawmill and some pine land at Cloquet, Minnesota.
Two years later Mr. Crossett sold his interest to Mr. Shaw, taking in payment ten thousand acres of Arkansas land covered with yellow pine. His friends were confident that he had made a serious mistake in acquiring Arkansas property, but the soundness of his judgment was speedily vindicated. Convinced by personal inspection of the great possibilities in yellow pine, he became extensively interested in other companies operating in the south.
Already a heavy stockholder in the Eagle Lumber Company, of Eagle Mills, Arkansas, and in the Gates Lumber Company, of Wilmar, Arkansas, he, in company with C. W. Gates and Dr. J. W. Watzek, purchased in 1892 the Fordyce Lumber Company, of Fordyce, Arkansas.
Ok, as it says above, they bought a sawmill and some pineland in Cloquet, Minnesota. It just so happenes that the Carlton County Historical Society is IN Cloquet, and here is their website:
http://www.carltoncountyhs.org/
Here is a brief history of Cloquet:
http://www.cloquet.com/community/history/
From what I have found, Renwick, Shaw & Crossett were based in Davenport, Iowa, and it appears that Oronoco is in between Davenport and Cloquet.
Ok, enough focus on the Minnesota connection.
Now for Eagle Mills and the Eagle Lumber Co.
Here is info on 3 steam locomotives that were built for the Eagle Lumber Company.
#555 was built for the Eagle Lumber Co. 04-30-1898
http://www.shaylocomotives.com/data/lima/sn-555.htm
It was one of three, the others being #1576 -built for Eagle Lumber on September 9, 1905
Here is a photo of it:
and #1759, built for Bering Manufacturing Co. in 1906, bought by Eagle Lumber on November 18, 1920
There is almost nothing on the internet about Eagle Mills, Arkansas or the Eagle Lumber Company that was located there.
Wait a minute...I take that back...Google is not doing it's job LOL!
Ok check this out. Here is a photo of it!! WOOHOO!
And here is a photo of another engine owned by the Freo Valley Railroad (the railroad serving Eagle Lumber Company). The caption is: A Freo Valley Railroad engine is stopped in front of the Eagle Mills Depot about 1920.
It is not, however one of the three used by Eagle Lumber. The one in the photo is Freeo Valley Railway #7. The Eagle Lumber locomotives were FVR #3, #5 & #8
What is really wild is that the county seat is Camden, Arkansas. Back in 1982 I was running sound for a rock band, and had a real hand-of-God type experience there.
Little did I know 23 years later I would be doing research on that very area lol.
If ya really wanna go nuts on the historical research, here is the address of the Ouachita County Historical Society:
Ouachita County Historical Society
926 Washington St. NW
Camden, AR 71701
Here is a messageboard for that county at ancestry.com.
It is possible there are geneological researchers who have tons of info on the early history of that county.
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?h...northam.usa.states.arkansas.counties.ouachita
Checking out mapquest.com, it appears that Eagle Mills, Arkansas still exists.
Gee....have I gone over the top on info for ya?
Good luck. Nice find!
