Timber!

From the St. Croix and its tributaries—the Kettle, Snake, Rum, Clam, Trade, and Yellow Rivers—thousands of white pine logs were sent downstream. Nearly 100 logging camps upstream supplied logs for sawmills in Stillwater, Marine, and Osceola. During the winter millions of logs were cut in the northern forests, and each spring they were rolled into fast-moving streams and floated down the St. Croix. Narrow bends or low water levels often caused logs to jam and pile up. Huge log jams occurred at Angle Rock near Taylors Falls in 1865, 1877, 1883, and 1886. When logs did not reach the mills, milling companies lost thousands of dollars in profits, and lumberjacks also lost their lives while working in fast-moving water to free immense piles of logs. After the 1886 jam, logging companies began plans for a dam to hold back logs in the river so they could be released a few at a time. The 1886 log jam at Taylors Falls left enough wood to build 15,000 homes stuck for six weeks.

St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin · United States