Belton, Bell County
Built in 1912 at the Santa Fe rail yards in Temple, this planing mill was part of a complex of buildings that housed repair facilities for the railroad. Workers at the mill manufactured replacement parts for wooden elements of the Santa Fe's boxcars and early wooden passenger cars. Heavy timbers used in the building's construction were assembled in such a manner to handle the pounding of heavy machinery inside. In use until the late 1940s, the mill was moved to this location in 1989 to save it from demolition. Although no longer sited along the railroad route, it still serves as a reminder of the significant role the Santa Fe played in the industrial development of Bell County. (2001)