Bayley Creek Sawmill

Logging at Bayley Creek, 1915.
Logging at Bayley Creek, 1915.

There were two different sawmill operations on Fredonyer Peak, north of Eagle Lake. The first one was on the Horse Lake side operated by the Shumway family. The second one, and much later in time was on the north side near Bayley Creek reservoir, the  latter which was constructed in 1899. It should be noted, that many maps misspell it as Bailey, but it was so named after Likely rancher George H. Bayley.

In 1912, H. T. Risdon established the Eagle Lake Lumber Company and constructed a sawmill at Bayley Creek.  Risdon encountered problems finding skilled labor. In time he leased it to Thomas Coulter and Frank Spencer, who in 1919 bought it outright from Risdon. The mill remained in operation until 1942, when it closed for good.

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2 thoughts on “Bayley Creek Sawmill”

  1. TIM:
    Thanks for the Bayley Creek piece. Like most creeks in the area Bayley probably didn’t have enough water to power a sawmill, but there was enough water to supply a steam engine and the wood waste from the mill was the fuel, a win/win combination.

  2. The bayley creek mill was up little higher than the res,the springs dont run as fast as they used to 40 yrs ago,

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