Lumbering in America

The first mills used hand-powered pitsaws with the blade held in a frame and pulled up and down by two men, one above and one below. About 1630, water began powering the blade, bringing the vertical "up and down" sawmill into use. A pre-Civil War map shows nine sawmill sites, including this one, along Owens and Hunting Creeks. This rebuilt mill, with its restored mill-pond and race, is typical of sawmills from the "up-and-down" era. Later, the faster circular saw, introduced about 1820, and steam power forced such mills out of business. Today, sawmills are much larger and are powered by either electricity or diesel fuel.

Maryland · United States