The first industry of any importance to the people of Harlan County was logging. Harlan's forest produced dense and rich stands of poplars, white oaks, pines, maples, walnuts, and several other valuable timber varieties for the lumber market. For years before the railroad was built in Harlan, trees were cut, logs were sawed and hauled into the Cumberland River, where winter and spring tide waters floated them down to Wasiota in Bell County. There, at a large mill, the lumber was prepared for shipment by rail.