Beginning with the Buckwalter Lumber Co. discussed in the last column, Union has enjoyed many other industries throughout the years. From one to the other, they have given employment to Union’s people, allowing them to provide for their families in a small-town setting that is anchored by its churches and school. Today’s column focuses on those industries.
• 1906 – Buckwalter Lumber Company opened on McMahen Street and closed in 1962.
• 1927 – The Union Compress was built west of the railroad off Hwy. 492. It built warehouses that crossed to the east side of the railroad as far as Magnolia Street.
• 1937 – Using the BAWI plan, Union Silk Thread Co. was built at 102 Magnolia St.
• 1940 – Union Shirt Co., a branch from West Point Shirt Co., opened in the former Silk Thread building.
• 1943 – Lebanon Shirt Co. followed Union Shirt in that building. It closed in Dec. 1953.
• 1950 – Cleveland Wood Products at 801 E. Jackson Road, then in 1960 built Cleveland Industries 610 S. Decatur St.
• 1954 – Midland Shirt opened after Lebanon Shirt moved out of the Magnolia Street building. It closed in January 1994.
• 1963 – After Buckwalter Lumber Co. closed and went to auction, Prath Lumber Co. at the same location.
• 1966 – Cleveland Industries was sold to Mississippi Products Inc. who immediately merged with DeSoto. It closed in 1982.
• 1975 – Bill Cassel closed Prath to join Ancle and Reuben Cleveland to form TriC and open in the former Prath building. They primarily made wagons. A bond issue passed allowing them to construct a building there, which opened May 1976.
• 1977 – Century Insulation opened at 107 Old Decatur Road and expanded in 1986.
• 1981– Union Chain, a division of Litton, opened at 224 Industrial Drive and closed in 1985. They made industrial chains.
• 1984 – TriC moved back to the 610 S. Decatur St. building after Desoto had moved out.
• 1987 – Wood Plus opened in the former TriC building and merged with TriC in 1996.
• 1987 – Midland Shirt Co. built a warehouse on the Hwy. 15 Bypass across from the Family Medical Clinic. After closing, they sold to MDG, Bon Homme from Decatur.
• 1990 – Neshoba Chair opened on the west side of Industrial Circle on Kate Thomas Drive. It closed in 1995.
• 1990 – Brooks Mfg., makers of Ford brake pedals, moved in the Litton building and expanded in 1991. They closed in Nov. 2001.
• 1990 – The Hunter building was built on Industrial Circle where Road 236 intersects, but no business opened in it until 2005 when a small operation began there. It went up for online auction in Nov. 2017.
• 1992 – Century Insulation sold to Apache, another insulation plant. Apache closed in Oct. 2001. They bought the old Jackson Road building and the warehouse originally built by Midland on the bypass.
• 1994 – When Midland Shirt closed, they tore down part of the old Compress warehouse on the west side of Magnolia Street and built a metal building to open Harcrest International, a distribution center for imported shirts. It closed Dec. 31, 2000.
• 1994 – After Midland closed the manufacturing business, JB Sportswear opened in that location. They closed in 2000.
• 1996 – Choctaw Maid opened north of Industrial Circle at 13001-A Road 2219 beside the railroad.
• 1996 – Tyson Feed Mill opened at the same time in the same location as Choctaw Maid. Tyson bought Choctaw Maid in 2003. They built a 180-foot tower in 2005.
• 1997 – Choctaw Glove opened in the former Neshoba Chair building.
• 2010 – Neshoba County Board of Supervisors bought the former Brooks building and rented to DuraSip, makers of insulation.
• 2013 – When Durasip moved to the former Wood Plus building, Allied-Locke Industries opened in that 224 Industrial Circle building to make chains.
If you have additional information that should be added to this list, please contact me and I can make corrections. Whether these industries employed hundreds or less than twenty, each one has been important to Union in making it the town that it is today.
If you know answers to these questions, my contact information is 109 Woodhaven Dr., Union, or 601-774-5564, or teresablount26@yahoo.com.
• Mrs. C.S. Johnson closed her “Children’s Shop” from her home on North St. Do you know which house that was?
• Did H.C Tovar own Jitney Jungle between Joe Miller and Carey Gordon?
• I have a picture dating in the late 1940s with a building facing the alley standing behind where the Payne Fitness Center is located today.
Do you know what was in that building?
