The McGiffert Log Loader was a rail-hauled log-loading machine invented in 1901 by John R. McGiffert. Several hundred were built for use in North America, and today only five or six exist in the U.S., with one in Canada. Like the Clyde Log Skidders, these machines were built by the Clyde Iron Works of Duluth, Minnesota. The various Crowell lumber companies may have had as many as seven of these machines between 1902 and 1954. Because Clyde Iron Works records were destroyed in a fire in 1908, there is no formal record before that date beyond knowing that the Alexandria Lumber Co. purchased one, and it is considered safe to assume that Crowell and Spencer also purchased a machine in that same period. After 1908, Crowell and Spencer purchased McGifferts 1002 and 1230, while the Meridian Lumber Co. purchased unit 1222. Alexandria Lumber Co. also purchased a secondhand loader, 1036, from the McNary Lumber Co. in 1923 for use at Alco. Loader 1229 was purchased by the Powell Lumber Co. of Reeves, Louisiana, and was shipped from Duluth on April 25, 1919, fourteen days before Crowell and Spencer unit 1230. Crowell and Spencer purchased 1229 from Powell Lumber Co. in the 1930s for use out of Hutton, and both 1229 and 1230 were brought to Long Leaf after 1944 for use east of Meridian.