Phillips Brothers Mill
Why it's listed
Tucked into mixed Sierra forest east of Oak Run, this 7.5-acre site is a working steam-powered sawmill and box factory built by the Phillips family. Edmund Phillips and his eight sons started the mill in 1933, supplying lumber for homes, churches, schools and bridges. World War II shut it down when the sons enlisted. Afterward four brothers reopened it and shifted to box manufacturing, a business they could run on a modest scale. The complex includes the sawmill, planing mill, machine shop, box factory, an ammonia ice plant, cabins, cookhouses and sheds, mostly of post-and-beam construction with barn-board siding and metal roofs. Thirteen steam engines drive line shafts and belts connected to machinery, much of it from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Listed for its role in industry and engineering, the mill is described as representing small steam sawmills of the Depression era and as the only steam mill of its kind still in production.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the mill is an excellent example of small, limited-production steam sawmills that operated from the late 1800s through the Great Depression across the inland pineries. It claims to be the only steam mill in the United States still doing production work with machinery dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is significant under Criterion A in the areas of Engineering and Industry.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 02001406, listed December 2, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Approx. 30 mi. NE of Redding, Oak Run |
|---|---|
| County | Shasta County |
| Listed | December 2, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02001406 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1933 - 1952 |
| Architect / builder | Phillips Brothers |
| Architectural style | No style - Folk building methods of the Great Depression and World War II |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Industry |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still operating: the sawmill runs about 20 days a year, cutting roughly 6,000 board feet daily, with 13 steam engines powering the machinery. |
| Acreage | 7.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.72268, -121.98602 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 02001406.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q85793136
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.