Cutting the Trees

The great period of American logging ends around 1900. Michigan and Wisconsin peaks a little earlier, Oregon and Washington a little later. But during the 30 years of peak activity, loggers are able to clear whole forests.

This is mostly pine in the East, a foot or two in diameter. But out in the Pacific Northwest, the Redwood, Fir and Sequoia are much larger. The two big jobs are cutting them down, and then getting them to the sawmills.

This takes ingenuity and plenty of muscle power. Hundreds of short logging railroads are eventually built to speed things up. The cheapest way to move timber, however, is just to roll it into a river, and pick it up downstream.
Logging, 1910

  Men and Trees
Western fir trees are huge, taking six men all day to bring one down (top left). The somewhat smaller Michigan pines are typically moved with horses during the winter, over frozen ground (top right). Wherever possible, logs are dragged to the shore, then rolled into the water during spring flooding season to float down to the mills. Sometimes they jam tight (lower right).

Hauling wood by rail, 1910

  Wood by Rail
The bigger logging operators eventually discover they can build their own railroads, right through the woods, to reach stands of trees far from the water (top left). This is often a two-step process, with logs arriving at the rail cars by other means. Hundreds of little narrow-gauge logging railroads are built in Michigan alone, which can be pulled up and moved as conditions dictate. When loggers are finished with an area, equipment is sometimes left to just rust away in the woods.


Sawmills, 1910

  Where it all Goes
The final destination for all that wood is the lumber mill, with its big circular saw blade (top) and smaller gang saws (bottom). Band saws are also sometimes used. Stacks of lumber drying out behind the mill soar beyond belief (right).