Logging in Michigan: A Journey Through the North Woods 1

By the 1840’s, states such as, New York and Maine had been cleared of almost all valuable timber. 2

White pine happened to be the most valuable tree for lumbering. 3

Michigan was the next closest state in the northern pine belt Michigan was the next closest state in the northern pine belt. Its abundance of pine trees and rivers made it the perfect place to begin logging next. 4

Lumber crews from Maine and New York sent “timber cruisers” to scout the land. Often, Native Americans assisted the timber cruisers in finding the best stands of white pine. 5

Some of these white pines were 200 years old, stood 200 feet tall, and could be up to five feet in diameter! 6

After the timber cruisers found the best stands, rich businessmen called “lumber barons” bought up the land. Sometimes for as cheap as $1.25 an acre! = 7

Click the link below to take a picture tour of a lumber baron’s mansion. Make sure you read CAREFULLY! http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/prehist/lumber/baron.html Press the BACK button when you’re done 8

Next to come were the timber crews and the “shanty boys” who would set up camp in the woods. 9

Lumber Camp 10

Shanty Boys 11

A typical camp consisted of a bunkhouse, a cook shanty which held the dinning room and kitchen, a granary, and a barn for animals. 12

The buildings were usually temporary The buildings were usually temporary. At the end of the winter logging season the crews would take apart the camps and move to new timber stands. 13

Loggers lived a very lonely life in the woods Loggers lived a very lonely life in the woods. For fun they would play cards and music, tell stories, grind their axes, and sometimes have boxing matches. 14

The food wasn’t very exciting either The food wasn’t very exciting either. A typical meal consisted of bread, potatoes, tea, beans, pork, and gravy. 15

The timber crews would work from 4 a. m. until dark The timber crews would work from 4 a.m. until dark! Lunch was usually served out in the woods by the cook’s helper, the “cookee.” O “Cookee” 16

Some of the most important tools the lumberjacks used were the axe, crosscut saw, and cant hook. 17

Here is a diagram of some of the lumberjack’s tools. 18

Most of the logs were much too heavy to be dragged from the woods Most of the logs were much too heavy to be dragged from the woods. Lumberjacks created ice-covered roads, and pulled out the logs with horse-drawn sleds. 19

The “Ice Sled” would pour water on the snow to ice-over the roads. 20

A logging sled 21

At the end of the lumber season, the crews would send the piled up logs down “ice shoots” to the melting rivers. Ice Shoot 22

The rivers would then carry the logs downstream to the mills. 23

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Sometimes the logs would get snagged on debris and create massive “logjams.” 25

Special lumberjacks called “jam crackers” would have the dangerous job of breaking the jams. Some of them even used dynamite to unclog a jam! 26

Log jam on the Grand River 27

Once at the mills the logs would be collected in a pond called a “boom,” and would be stamped with a company mark. 28

The marks would tell which company owned which logs The marks would tell which company owned which logs. Then the logs would be cut and processed at the saw mill. *Calumet is in the Keweenaw peninsula in Michigan’s UP. 29

Rivers were the best way to send the logs to the mills Rivers were the best way to send the logs to the mills. However, the logs caused terrible damage to the the rivers. St. Johns River Even today, some of Michigan’s rivers are still damaged from the logging era. 30

Two very important inventions helped Michigan become the biggest lumber producer in the nation from 1869-1899. 31

The narrow gauge railroad 32

The “Big Wheel” 33

The narrow gauge railroad and the big wheel could carry large amounts of logs in all seasons, making logging a year long industry in Michigan. 34

But eventually, there were very few trees left to cut. 35

The lumber barons and timber crews took little care of the lands The lumber barons and timber crews took little care of the lands. Usually they left them full of dead stumps and wood scraps called kindling. 36

The dry kindling became the fuel for many great forest fires. Catastrophic fires of 1871 37

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The most horrific fire was the Metz fire of 1908. 39

The fire burned nearly 200,000 acres of land in Presque Isle County, Michigan, and destroyed the entire town of Metz, MI. The people of Metz desperately tried to flee the terrible blaze. 40

Some residents jumped aboard a train to try to escape the fire Some residents jumped aboard a train to try to escape the fire. They were headed right into a blazing inferno and did not know it. 41

Read this first-hand account of the horror that ensued: A little farther on we came out of the woods . . . On the other side of the main track were piles of cedar posts and the bark and posts were all on fire, though I didn’t know it until we were right between ‘em. The engine went off the track. The rails had been warped by the heat. We couldn’t have stopped in a worse place . . . There was fire on each side, and the car of bark back of the tender was burning fiercely . . . 42

The warped tracks at Metz 43

16 people were burned to death on the train 16 people were burned to death on the train. Some never even left the train car as it was swallowed in flames. 44

For decades the forests of Michigan would continue to burn For decades the forests of Michigan would continue to burn. Slowly they began to recover. 45

Even today, some of the logging era stumps still exist . . . 46

. . . Reminding us of a time when rough and tumble shanty boys combed the woods, lumber barons struck it rich, and when logging was the “king” of the north woods. 47