Phillips Brothers Mill
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
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.
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) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1933 - 1952 |
|---|---|
| Styles | No style - Folk building methods of the Great Depression and World War II |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Industry |
| Acreage | 7.5 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | Phillips Brothers Mill (property record) |
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.