Moving the Load

Many men were needed to move pine from forest to rivers. Starting every winter, timber cruisers searched for the best stands of white pine, which sawyers cut down and swampers trimmed. Sleds pulled by horses or oxen hauled logs to the nearest riverbank over paths kept slick with ice. During the drive downstream, loggers faced rustlers and log jams. When logs reached the sawmills, they were cut into boards for building houses and factories. By the 1870's, big wheel carts and narrow gauge railroads allowed loggers to cut, transport, and mill logs all year round.

Michigan · United States