Grayson County TXGenWeb

William B. Boss was born in 1832 in Baltimore, Maryland. After high school he went to work in merchandising for several years, then turned his attention to railroading. In September 1872, the year that Denison was established, he established a firm known as Boss, Pinto and Jennings. As head of the firm, he engaged in the lumber and agricultural implement business and the building of the Lone Star Flour Mill where he became superintendent.

The Denison Daily News
February 25, 1873
Monday evening the citizens of Denison congregated at the foot of Owings Street to witness the laying of the corner stone of the magnificent Flouring Mill now in course of erection by the Proprietors, Messrs. Boss, Jennings & Co.
At the unanimous request of the vast concourse of people there assembled, Mr. J.W. Jennings acted as master of ceremonies, and in a few brief remarks explained the nature of the occasion which had brought the assembly together, after which the workmen proceeded to lay the northeast corner stone of what is to be the most expensive building yet projected in Denison.
The ceremony of placing the stone in position having been performed, the blessings of Deity were invoked on the proprietors, the workmen and the building. Many were the congratulations the inaugurators of this great enterprise received.
The following articles were sealed up in a canister and placed under the corner stone: a copy of the first number of the Daily News, a copy of the Weekly News, and also a copy of the Journal, a time card and freight tariff of the M.K. & T Ry., one of Boss, Pinto & Jennings's business cards, a postage stamp, a nickel, each denomination of fractional currency, and a letter of dedication; also a small vial of the fluid extract of corn.
The mill which has received the name of "The Lone Star Mill of Denison", in honor of the great State in which it is located, is to be built of the excellent brown sand stone obtained in the vicinity of Denison, and consists of three stories besides the basement, with a mansard roof.

The mill work will be put up under the direction of Superintendent David Langton, who is also to be the miller and will be a partner in the mill.
The capacity of the mill will be 200 barrels of flour per day (requiring 1,000 bushels of wheat), and 400 barrels of corn meal. The best brand of flour will be known as the Lone Star brand.
Thus has been inaugurated a work of which every good citizen of our young and thriving city may justly be proud, and which will prove a lasting blessing to Northern Texas.

To his lumber business, William soon added the three-story Lone Star Flouring Mill and became its superintendent. On September 23, 1873, Harrison Tone reported in the Denison Daily News, "Lone Star [Flour] Mills, erected at a cost of $40,000, [is] now turning out flour at the rate of 150 barrels daily."

"The mill had a capacity of 250 barrels of flour a day and provided a market for all the wheat raised in the surrounding country. That flour manufactured by these mills had become favorably known all through the parts of Texas that could be reached by rail and commanded the highest market price, the listing stated.

An advertisement showing the mill was published in The Great South-West on March 4, 1875.

By 1876, Boss was a City Councilman representing the Fourth Ward and was a member of the Council's Schools Committee. The 1876 Denison City Directory listed the Lone Star Mill as located on the southeast corner of Houston Avenue and Owings Street, beside the MK&T tracks.

"The citizens of Denison gathered at the foot of Owings Street – just where the foot of the street was remains a mystery – to witness the laying of the cornerstone of what was called “the magnificent Flour Mill” being built by Messrs. Boss, Jennings & Co. At the request of the group gathered there, J.W. Jennings acted as master of ceremonies and in a few brief remarks explained the nature of the occasion.
Workmen then laid the northeast cornerstone of what was described as “the most expensive building yet projected in Denison.” After the stone was placed, the “blessings of Deity were invoked on the proprietors, the workmen and the building,” and congratulations from the crowd were generously extended.
Sealed in a canister and placed under the cornerstone were a copy of the first number of the Daily News, a copy of the Weekly News, a copy of the Journal, a time card and freight tariff of the Katy Railroad, one of Boss, Pinto & Jennings’ business cards, a postage stamp, a nickel, each denomination of fractional currency, a letter of dedication and a small vial of the fluid extract of corn."---Hunt, Donna, "Denison Has a Mill Town History", Denison Herald, January 4, 2015

The Daily Cairo (Illinois) Bulletin
August 5, 1880
pg. 1

A Bread Show
Denison, Tex., Aug. 3 - A novel but interesting exhibition took place here this afternoon, vis., a bread s how. About 2 weeks ago the Lone Star mill offered a prize of a barrel of flour to the lady baking the best loaf of bread; and merchants and others offered additional prizes. To-day being set for the contest J.W. Burson, editor of the Herald; B.C. Murray, editor of the News, and another gentleman, acting as judges, sampled a huge pile of the "staff of life," awarded 9 prizes and are now hiding from about 200 unsuccessful competitors for that barrel.

Letterhead for Boss, agent
Lone Star Flour Mill
September 14, 1881
Denison, Texas

The early partnership with Jennings and Pinto soon evaporated. According to City Directories, the Lone Star Mill was owned by Knapp & Stout. As early as 1876, William Boss was listed in the City Directory as agent for Knapp, Stout, and Company. Wikipedia has a good deal to say about Knapp & Stout:

Knapp, Stout & Co. was a lumber company based in Menomonie, Wisconsin, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The company was established in 1846, when John Holly Knapp and William Wilson purchased a lumber mill on the Red Cedar River from David Black; it was originally known as Black & Knapp; it was originally known as Black & Knapp. Henry Stout became an owner of the company in 1853, and its name became Knapp, Stout & Co. The company's location allowed it to control the lumber industry in the region, and by 1870 it controlled the logging industry in the Red Cedar River valley. In 1878, the company incorporated, and its official name became the Knapp, Stout & Co. The company employed over 2,000 workers in the Menomonie area and produced 85 million board feet of lumber on average yearly from 1871 to 1896; its output made it the largest lumber company in the world. In the 1880s, the company expanded to sites along the Mississippi River, opening office in Dubuque, Iowa, Read's Landing, Minnesota, and St. Louis Missouri. By the 1900s, the company had largely depleted its lumber supply; it closed many of its camps and dissolved early in the 20th century. The company sent out its last shipment of lumber on August 12, 1901.

Boss and his wife Margaret lived on the southwest corner of Day Street and Lamar Avenue. Both had been married previously. They had two children, possibly from previous marriages—William F. Boss (1862–?) and Lillian C. Blood Brown (1866–1924). Lillian in 1889 married Henry Wiltz Brown, who became a longtime newspaper editor in Findley, Hamilton County, Ohio.

The property was clearly depicted on the 1886 "Bird's-Eye Map" drawn by Henry Wellge.

Lone Star Flour Mill, 1886
William B. Boss
Source: 1886 Bird's Eye Map
Henry Wellge (1850–1917). Denison, Texas. Grayson County. 1886, 1885. Toned lithograph, 17.6 x 26.9 in., by Beck & Pauli, Milwaukee. (Published by Norris, Wellge, & Co., No. 107 Wells St., Milwaukee, Wis.). Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth.

The 1891 City Directory listed both the Lone Star Lumber Yard, with both yard and office at the southwest corner of Chestnut Street and South Houston Avenue; and the Lone Star Flour Mills at the corner of South Houston Avenue and Owings Street. That year William was listed as "Manager, Lone Star Lumber Yard, lumber, laths, shingles, sash, doors, blinds ... Rooms at Howard E. Hanna, boards with Mrs. M. V. Cummings." William's wife was listed separately, which was rather unusual: "Mrs. W. B. Boss, proprietress, Lone Star Lumber Yard ... boards at Mrs. M. V. Cummings." The Lone Star Flour Mills were owned by Knapp, Stout, & Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

pre-1886
A MK&T railway car made by C.S.R.S. Co. on the tracks in front of the building,
The men standing on the walkway/loading ramp around the building are possibly employees of the mill.
The building was demolished in early 1906

By 1896 the Bosses had left Denison, perhaps reflecting the decline of Knapp & Stout. The Census of 1910 found William working as a commercial traveler selling lumber. He and wife Margaret A. were living in Sedalia, Missouri, a major stop on the MK&T Railway between St. Louis and Denison. The next year, they had moved to Findley, Ohio, where daughter Lillian lived; William was still working as a commercial traveler. By 1914, the Findley City Directory listed no occupation for him. In 1911 Mrs. Boss renewed her subscription to her old hometown of Denison.

In B. C. Murray's Little Story No. 25, published in 1910, he wrote, "The old mill was acquired by the MK&T many years ago and
dismantled." The clippings below show that what seemed like many years to Murray was actually only four or five. The Katy acquired the decaying mill in 1905 and finished demolishing it a year later. Some materials from the mill were recycled locally (as was the lumber from the old canning factory). The stones from the walls are probably still present in some bridge abutments around Denison.

The Sunday Gazetteer
Sunday, April 23, 1911
pg. 4

When an old-timer leaves Denison the Gazetteer is almost sure to follow them. This reminder is called by the renewal of the subscription of Mrs. W.B. Boss, so well and favorably known in pioneer society circles. Mrs. Boss is at present at Findlay, Ohio. The old Boss residence in southeast Denison was the most noted social center in Denison in the early period.
Mrs. Boss was a beautiful, stately lady and a royal entertainer. She was assisted by her daughter, Miss Lillian, a very beautiful and accomplished girl, who turned the hearts of many young men. Among the saddest memories is that the good old times are gone; but they were the most pleasant that Deniion ever experienced.

Margaret died in 1914. In 1921, William was a widower living in Woodstock, Illinois. He died that year in Chicago and was buried in Findlay, Ohio alongside of Margaret.