Henry J. Lutcher and G. Bedell Moore came to Texas in 1877 and established what was probably the first large lumber operation in the state at Orange on the Sabine River. They were experienced lumbermen, having owned a sawmill company in Williamsport, Pennsylvania before migrating South. The Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company developed into one of the largest lumber operations in the entire Gulf South and frequently reported the largest annual cut of any Texas enterprise at a single site. They owned large acreages of pinelands on both sides of the Sabine and expanded their activities to include a number of related companies. Henry Lutcher was a leader in promoting the development of a deep water port on the Sabine and the company exported Southern pine lumber to all parts of the world. L & M pioneered in the development of grade-marked lumber and was one of the first Texas companies to discontinue the use of merchandise checks for paying its employees. Three generations of Lutchers, Moores, Starks, and Browns (Henry J. Lutcher Stark) guided the destinies of this great company and its subsidiaries for more than ninety years. In 1970 the company, its assets and lands were sold to the Boise-Southern Company and Lutcher and Moore as an active producer of lumber passed out of existence. The papers of the company which are of historical interest, have been deposited with the Forest History Archives of the Stephen F. Austin State University Library. They comprise a very large collection approximating some 44,122 items.