Thirty-three years ago the town of Bruce was established. Actually the town was incorporated June 29, 1927.
At that time there were no more than a dozen houses, three stores, a hotel, and the E.L. Bruce Co. mill.
There were no schools or churches, but it was not many months before a school and churches were built.
The vast area of the fine hardwood and pine timber grown in this part of Mississippi predetermined the town of Bruce.
Up until around 1890 this virgin timber had little value. It was used for fuel, rails for fences, log houses, boards to cover houses and some times for road bed and bridges.
The Butterfield Company from the State of Michigan came down and bought many thousand acres of this fine timber land for $1 to $2 an acre.
E.L. Bruce
The Butterfield Company bought this timber primarily for its furniture factory in Grand Rapid, Mich., but in the 1920s the E.L. Bruce Co., the largest hardwood flooring concern in the world, bought out the Butterfields, and started processing the lumber in 1924.
A mill and a railroad was to be built. After some squabbling with the town officials at Pittsboro, the mill was established 3.2 miles north of Pittsboro in what is known as the Schoona Valley.
The mill cut its first lumber April 1, 1923. The Schoona Valley Railroad was completed in 1927. This railroad joins the I.C.R.R. near Coffeeville, some 30 miles west of Bruce.
The town began to grow so fast there were many problems to deal with. Housing was the greatest of these problems.
The E.L. Bruce Company began building houses as fast as they could, and other people began to build and move into their new homes. The housing problem has been consistent since the beginning of the town.
Today, there are many beautiful, modern homes built for good living. More homes are being built every month. With fine churches, schools, and balanced agriculture with industry, the building program will continued to grow in all directions.
The population in 1950 was 1,850 or thereabout and we estimate the population will be around 3,000 in 1960. The next problem was schools. In 1929 a long range school program was launched, and a building was completed to care for 300 students that year. This long range program only lasted until 1935 when the building was enlarged, and again, in 1938, a new high school building was finished.
These buildings would care for some 800 students. More consolidations of schools came in 1958, and more buildings were required. These buildings were completed in 1959, modern in every respect. There are now approximately 1,250 students with a faculty of 46 teachers. A well rounded program of education is provided. However, we are in need of more space even now.
Another problem at the beginning was churches. There were two small frame buildings constructed for worship by the Baptist and Methodist. From that beginning we now have seven active churches. Baptist and Methodist are predominant with full time programs in modern brick structures with educational facilities along with the worship facilities.
Streets and roads was another great problem which has been solved by hard surfacing the streets of the town and highways leading into Bruce from all four directions, north, south, east and west. The recently completed federal highway No. 9 West puts the town of Bruce within 30 miles of the University of Mississippi located at Oxford. All roads lead to Bruce these days.
Bruce has a 30-bed hospital, two doctors, a dentist, a chiropractor, three lawyers, a veterinarian and a health office.
Dunn and Bradstreet lists 74 business housed in Bruce. There is a market in Bruce for farm and poultry products. Recently a grain elevator has been built. It buys grain and manufactures feed for cattle, hogs and poultry. Some of the finest cattle in the country are found in this community. Recently one of our Black Angus breeders had a sale that brought $22,000 worth of breeding stock.
Industries continue to come into the community. The E.L. Bruce Company has continued to manufacture lumber since the beginning of the town and employs at present approximately 250 men with an annual payroll of around $700,000. Glenn Slacks, Inc., began operation in 1956 with 76 people and now employs 385 people with an annual payroll of $780,000.
The Bruce Furniture Manufacturing Company was started about January 1, 1960 by a group of Bruce businessmen. it now employs 90 people mostly men. It is now producing 170 pieces of furniture daily. This company has great possibilities, and expects to expand to employ approximately 500 people within a few years.
The Bruce Mattress Company is a going concern, small but is expected to grow. One of the best weekly newspaper in the state– The Calhoun County Journal, owned and operated by Sellers Denley and family, is, and has been a great asset to the town and has made a great contribution to boosting the growth of the town of Bruce.
Much interest is given to developing our forests. E.L. Bruce Co. and D.L. Fair Lumber Company employ all-time foresters for timber stand improvement and reforestation of the many thousands of acres these companies own. Many farmers are working at reforestation of land not suited for other farm purposes. Two million pine seedlings have been set out each year for the last 5 years, or a total of 2000 acres a year.
Within 15 years, the pulpwood industry, which is already bringing in a considerable income to the county, will be a tremendous factor in the income of the county. The lumber business will also continue indefinitely.
Our people are hard working people concerned about a better life, and better opportunities for their children. Our people have faith in themselves and the future of Bruce, and they work together as individuals and as clubs. We have a very active Rotary Club, Lions Club, Junior Chamber of Commerce and several active ladies’ clubs, all working to improve our town and community.
We have a large number of Negroes living in and around Bruce and we have no race problem. The mills employ many Negroes and many are farmers and have employment in other places of business and in domestic work. We have a very modern, well equipped school for Negroes of North Calhoun County located in Bruce.
By now it is understood why the town was named Bruce.
There is much more that could be said about the progress of the town of Bruce in the short span of 33 years, but remembering what Benjamin Franklin said, “You talk too much on the best of subjects.”
This article ran in the April 21, 1960 edition of The Journal.