The T. R. Miller Company is the last of the great 19th century companies to survive. T.R. Miller Mill is the oldest timber company in the area. Making wood products, the company is still operated by the same family who founded the business in the 1800s. Two area companies, Alger-Sullivan and Miller, pioneered reforestation and were able to continue much longer than the average mill did. This area was settled by white Europeans primarily because of the vast forests of huge pine trees. Many freed slaves stayed to form a major part of the labor pool in this industry. Sawmills were built and trees were cut. Most timber companies cut and moved on. Farmers moved in behind them.