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September of 1867
Captain Benjamin Stevens
opened a General Store,
and Timber operation
in Augusta, Mississippi,
the location of the
largest Government
Land Grant office
East of the Mississippi
River. Captain Stevens
began his timber operation
purchasing land and
rafting Virgin Pine
Logs down the Leaf
and Pascagoula Rivers
to sawmills located
on the Mississippi
Gulf Coast. The location
of his store was about
one mile from the
present Georgia Pacific
Leaf River Pulp Mill.
 In
1904 Captain Stevens
and a son, C. H. Stevens
moved the store and
timber operations
to Richton, Mississippi
to be located on the
newly constructed
railroad extending
from Mobile, Alabama
to Jackson, Tennessee.
Ben M. Stevens, Sr.,
grandson of Captain
Benjamin Stevens became
owner in the early
twenties and changed
the company name to
B. M. Stevens Company.
In April of 1926 B.
M. Stevens, Sr. was
returning from a business
trip and nearly collided
with a truck hauling
peeled logs headed
to Laurel. After stopping
too see if the driver
was okay he discovered
that the logs were
to be delivered to
a Mr. Mason who was
trying to make a wallboard
from wood chips that
were being sold under
the name Masonite.
Mr. Stevens developed
a friendship with
Mr. Mason and later
shipped the first
Rail Car of pulpwood
to the new Masonite
mill in Laurel, Mississippi.
As Masonite grew,
so did the B.M. Stevens
Company timber operation,
becoming for over
fifty years the largest
supplier of pulpwood
to Masonite.
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 In
1933 the Richton Tie
& Timber Company
was organized in order
to separate the expanding
timber operation from
the retail store.
As other family members,
Ben M. Stevens Jr.,
Henry Stevens, Forrest
Stevens and D. O.
Thoms came into the
business, a Sawmill,
a Building Supply
business and Timber
Lands were added to
the growing operation.
Building new relationships
with other companies,
Richton Tie and Timber
gradually began supplying
timber products to
other mills in Mississippi,
Louisiana and Alabama.
In March 1999 the
company name was changed
to Richton Tie &
Timber, LLC. Benjamin
M. Stevens III and
Richard H. Thoms,
Great, Great, Grandsons
of the founder, Captain
Benjamin Stevens became
the owners of the
company.
The company is continuing
its’ leadership
role in the forestry
procurement business
and constantly strives
to develop new opportunities.
With experience in
building and operating
a contract chip mill
for Georgia Pacific
and the addition in
2000 of Real Estate
Brokerage Services,
Richton Tie &
Timber is positioning
itself for a new wave
of opportunities in
the South.
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