Built in April 1892, when Lewiston had only two framed houses, the Michelson and Hanson saw mill burned to the ground in its first week of operation, was quickly rebuilt, and was running again by August. It operated two ten-hour shifts six days a week, and at its height employed over 150 men at an average wage of one dollar per day, considered very good at the time. The main mill could produce over 100,000 rough board feet daily, while an adjacent planning mill could finish 70,000 board feet per day, roughly enough lumber for five large houses each day. Logs arrived from forests across the area on narrow gauge railroads, then were floated and stored in East Twin Lake before being loaded by bull chain conveyor into the mill, with men in spiked shoes using pike poles to guide the floating logs into the chute. Some logs did not float, and some with the MH stamp still remain at the bottom of the lake. Finished lumber was stacked from the mill at the lake shore north toward downtown awaiting shipment. Lewiston’s first electricity came from the mill’s huge boilers, which had steam generators to power equipment and light work areas. Operations ceased in 1910 after most of the surrounding pine had been harvested, and portions of the mill were dismantled while the remains were scavenged or burned. Fires in enormous sawdust piles could smolder for months before breaking out, making fire a constant danger to the new community and leading Kneeland Street to serve as a fire break between the east and west sides of downtown. Though short-lived, the operation had tremendous economic and social impact and helped spawn a thriving community in Northern Michigan.