Chronister Lumber Company incorporated March 11, 1898 in Forest (Cherokee County), Texas with E. R. Maddux as President and C. J. Chronister as Secretary. The post Civil War railroad construction brought with it industry and Chronister Lumber Company took full advantage of it. The Sawmill for Chronister was at Wildhurst, about a mile north of Forest, which was a typical small sawmill town with a population of about 200 people. On January 1, 1901, J. Lipshitz was named President. Under his leadership the milling operations were expanded and improved, including enlarging the sawmill operation and adding tram locomotives to replace logging wagons. The mill at Wildhurst closed in 1944 and Chronister Lumber Company ceased operations.