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THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 26, 1903-HSILVEK ANNIVERSARY EDITION.

MINNESOTA

HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

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MINNEAPOLIS, THE WORLD'S • GREATEST LUMBER CENTER

How Minneapolis Reached Supremacy in Lumbering—-

The First arid One of the Most Important Industries

of the City-—Development of the Market— :Methods

of Logging and Sawing—1878 and i9o3 Compared.

MD W E A F O L I S is not only the

largest lumber manufac­turing point In the world, but the principal market of the northwest and the center of an enormous bus­

iness In forest and lumber products, building materials and other closely related articles of trade. A saw mill w a s the first commercial manufactur­ing enterprise at the Fal ls of St. An­thony, and the lumbering Industry has ever since been one of the prominent and picturesque features of Minne­apolis business life. Tho never reach­ing as great money totals as the grain and'* flour milling industries, it has al­ways been more conspicuous as a part of the business of the city, and has usually given employment to a much larger number of people. Until the rapid advance of flour mill ing some twenty-flve years ago, Minneapolis was known as a lumber town. The name "Flour City" had not been in­vented then.

A little lumber was sawed in the old

f-overnment mill which was built at he Fal ls of St. Anthony in 1821, but

the real beginnings of lumber manu­facturing in Minnesota were when a saw mill was built at Marine on the St.. Croix river, in 1839. About the same time a saw mill was built at St. Croix Falls, and in 1843 one was put up at Stillwater. The industry had quite a foothold on the St. Croix be­fore any attempts were made to manu­facture at Minneapolis. But St. An­thony falls attracted the industry irresistibly.

The site of Minneapolis was ideal for lumber manufacture. Stretching away to the north, almost from the falls themselves, extended the largest body of pine timber to be found in one watershed on the continent. The greater part of northern Minnesota was covered with a magnificent growth of white pine and nearly every log which was cut could be floated directly to the falls thru the Mississippi and its tributaries. Nowhere in the east had been found such a mighty logging stream or better timber.

And to the south and southwest lay the great treeless prairies which must be supplied with lumber; so that the floating of the logs to the power which w a s to convert them irfto mer­chantable lumber brought them that much nearer the market. The loca­t ion was an almost perfect conjunc­tion of bountiful supply of raw ma­terials, easy transportation to the manufacturing point, abundant power and a nearby and continually growing market whose needs were imperative.

Under such conditions the lumber Industry of Minneapolis had its be­ginnings. It is true that in 1847 when t.fte first s aw mil l wag bui l t a t (St. Anthony Fal ls there was little de­mand from this locality for pine lum­ber, but this demand followed rapidly. As to the outside demand, there never was a time when the product of the Minneapolis mills could not be sold to fairly good advantage. At first the lumber was rafted down the Missis­sippi to Iowa and Illinois points, where it was shipped into the interior as needed, but with the advent of the railroad the great bulk of the product went directly to the south and south­west and, later, to the prairies of the Dakotas, directly west of Minneapolis.

The first mill at the falls was built by Franklin Steele in 1847. Ard Godfrey, an experienced lumberman from Maine, put up the mill and had an interest in it. It was a Bmall affair and had but two saws, which would cu t abou t 16,000 fee t of l u m b e r in a day. It was first opened for sawing In the spring of 1848. This mill stood at the east end of a temporary dam on the East Side. The mill was so {>rofltable during the first season that

t was doubled in capacity in the fall Dt 1848. In 1848 Arnold 13. Zaylor

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of Boston acquired an interest in this first mill and proceeded to erect more mills along the dam, renting them to various parties; and it was as tenants of these early and rude mills that many of the men afterwards very prominent in developing the lumber industry, made their start. S. W. Farnham, Caleb D. Dorr, Charles Stlmpson, Loren Love joy and others were among these early lumber operators.

The second mill to be built in what is now Minneapolis (for the row on the East Side was practically one mill) was that built by Ard Godfrey at the mouth of Minnehaha creek. Mr. Godfrey took up a homestead which comprised the land now occupied by the Soldiers' home and much of Min­nehaha park. He built, in 1858, a dam across the creek near its mouth and put in a saw mill which was operated for a number of years. Finally it was destroyed by fire, but the ruins of the stone dam remain to the present day. Probably not one visitor in ten thousand who strolls down the Minnehaha glen, guesses that it was once the site of a busy little saw mill.

On the west side of the river the first saw mill to be built (of course excepting Godfrey's mill at Minneha­ha, which never cut much figure in the lumber business) was that of Pomeroy, Bates & Co., which was put up in 1856, near the mouth of Bas-sett's Creek. This mill was burned in 1859 and was not rebuilt; for a mill without water power was not much thought of in those days.

While this pioneering was being done the waterpower owners had not been idle. The St. Anthony Water Power company and the Minneapolis Mill company had been chartered in 1856, the former controlling the East Side. New dams were at once com­menced and were completed in 1857 and 1858. These dams joined in mid-channel above the falls in the shape of a letter A much as the present structure does. The work was an enormous one *for a frontier village. It showed the unbounded confidence in the future of those business men of the fifties.

On the West Side dam the first saw mill was the Pioneer mill, which was commenced by Gilpatrick & Hammons in 1858. Major J. B. Bas-sett bought it before completion. This was a famous old saw mill. It changed hands frequently and some of the most prominent lumbermen of Minneapolis have operated it in their day.

From these beginnings the lumber industry continued to rapidly develop during the two decades which passed before the year 1878—the date which is of special interest in this edition of T h e J o u r n a l . The group of mills at the East Side dam grew until every foot of space was utilized and the same conditions prevailed after a few years on the West Side. Associated with the operation of the East Side mills previous to 1870 were the names of J. B. Bassett, S. W. Farnham, Sam­uel Stanchfleld, Captain John Martin, Butler & Walker, W. E. Jones, Jona­than Chase, Chute Bros., J. S. Pi l ls-bury & Co., John Rollins, J. Dean & Co., Leonard Day, Todd, Gorton & Co., Tuttle & Lane, F. G. Mayo, and Mayo & Clark. In the year 1870 the whole row of mills and the old Steele dam were burned. A new dam 300 feet below the old one was at once commenced and five mills were built to replace the burned structures. These were owned by Levi Butler & Co.; Todd, Connor, Gaines & Co.; Todd, Haven, Leavitt- & Co.; Levi Butler, and James McMullen & Co.

Fol lowing the Pioneer mill on the west side, came mills owned by Leon­ard Day, W. E. Jones, Ankeny, Rob­inson & Clement, D. Morrison and W. D. Washburn. This last mill, built in 1865, was called the Lincoln and was Mr. Washburn's first enterprise aa a mill owner, altho he had m a n a g e d the West Side power for some years and had dealt in logs and lumber.

The two dams were now fully oc­cupied by sawmills. Further expan­sion of the Industry at Minneapolis must mean the use of some other power; and altho steam was not as economical as water power, it was ev­ident that it must be utilized. One or two sma l l s t e a m mil ls h a d been built, but they had not been signally successful. But there was a man do­ing business in Minneapolis who had already surprised his business con­temporaries. This was Joseph Dean, who went into the lumber business In 1862 and startled the town by buy­

ing the entire block bounded by First and Second 'avenues S and First and Second streets, at a cost of $500 a lot, for use as a lumber yard. At first J. Dean & Co. had logs sawed for them in the East Side mills, but in 1866 the firm built the Pacific mill, at the foot of First avenue N. This was the largest and best equipped mill yet built in Minneapolis. After >̂ ten years it was sold to Camp & Walker. Its particular interest in the history of the development of Minneapolis lumbering is the fact that it was the first to demonstrate the practicability of sawing to advantage by steam power in competition with water power and to show the desirability of the very best equipment. It marked the

sissippi. To make up these rafts, it was necessary to transport the lumber into still water below the falls and rapids, and the simplest way that oc­curred to the lumbermen was that of sluicing. Accordingly long sluices were built from the mills, elevated on trestlework, and gradually* descend­ing to the river .level near the site of the present Washington avenue bridge. In old pictures of the falls these

.sluices are conspicuous. When the railroads came in, in 1865, and the period immediately after, the sluices were gradually abandoned. '' -

The necessities of logging operations caused the.establishment of an institu­tion peculiar to the" business very'early in the history of lumbering. Logging

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men of the futility of two a u t h o r i t i e s ^ of this kind, when one might serve better. So in 1856 the Mississippi & Rum River Boom company was form­ed, with a capital of $15,000, and the two older companies absorbed. John S. Prince was the first president, J. A. Lovejoy secretary, and S. W. Farnham treasurer. The boom company proved a great success. It has continuously handled all the logs in the river as far. up as "boom limits" extend (and they now reach for many miles) , at-ending to the drive, holding back when necessary, storing lp,gs at convenient points and finally delivering them to the mills in Minneapolis in such quan­tities-as may be needed to-a l low-con­tinuous operation during the season,

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LUMBER EXCHANGE BUILDING. . _ This magnificent buflding—one of the first so-called "sky-scrapers" In Minneapolis—Is one of the largest and most

widely known office buildings in the west. It is strictly modern and up to date in all its appointments, and is the home of the lumber Interests of this city, which has now become the largest distributing lumber market in the country. Under its roof is found practically every lumber concern in Minneapolis, as well as the manufacturers and dealers in west coast lumber products and also those of the southern states. The building in this -particular is unique, as at no other known point, either in America or abroad, are there centered so many lumber concerns as in this structure. The recent and rapid growth of what are called "line yards" has added surprisingly to the Importance of the lumber business in Minneapolis. Headquarters and management have been, centered hero where opportunities are beat tor fonowing the mar­ket and making purchases where representatives of all manufacturers may be found.

The building is owned and operated by the Lumber Exchange Company, of which H. 0. Akeley, the well-known lum­berman, is president; F.. A. Chamberlain, president of the Security Bank of Minnesota, is vioe president, and J. S. Por-teous secretary and treasurer, who also takes the active management of Its affairs. < ..

beginning of the removal of the saw­mill district from the Fal ls of S t . A n ­thony and a complete revolution in methods of operation and handling.

Another Interesting evolution was going on about this time. When the first mills were built at the falls the principal market for their product was down the Mississippi river, that being the only transportation route for such bulky material as lumber. There were no railroads and com­paratively little population west of the city to consume lumber. There were, however , growing- towns a n d develop­ing f a r m i n g communi t i e s a long t h e Mississippi river from Dubuque to St. Louis, and, after'a time, railroad lines leading from these towns to interior points. So the first lumber made at Minneapolis was rafted' down-the Mis-

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was at first carried on In a very simple way. Logs came from very short dis-tances-7-mainly out of the R u m river at first, and each operator' hired h i s own men for the drive and got his logs into the booms at Minneapolis af­ter his own fashion. B u t . i t soon be­came plain that some more orderly way must be devised. There were-many disputes over ownership. of logs thru the unavoidable confusion in driving by so many, and the expense was large. In order to bring the whole subject u n d e r recognized supervis ion the Mis­sissippi - R ive r -Boom •_company a n d t h e St. Anthony Boom c o m p a n y were org­anized in 1861 to handle all logs in the river and separate them for'the several owners. A. few years' trial showed that»a boom company was a good thing; but also convinced the lumber-

and at the same t ime prevent Incon­venient surplus stocks In the mill "pockets." All the mill owners are represented In the boom company and have a voice in its management. R. H. Chute has been for years its manager.

« ^ f LUMBERING I N 1878.

Conditions In Minneapolis 25 Tears Ago-—Saw Mills and Their Owners. Minneapolis was distinctively a lum­

bering town in 1878. The arriving stranger in the city in 1903 is im­pressed more by the towering and massive.grain elevators and the many manufacturing establishments than by any other feature of the city; in 1878 he would have first noticed the lumber yards and the saw mills.

And yet, the saw mills of 1908 are

larger and the lumber yards of the present far more extensive than twen­ty-five years ago. The difference is that in 1878 the mills were in the center of the city; and further, that all other industries have grown out of proportion to the lumber business. But lumber sawing has by no means stood still. . The year 1878 saw 130 millions of feet produced at Minne­apolis, while the average of late years has been about 500 million feet.

I n 1878 old methods prevailed in the 'mills. As has been .said, nearly all the sawmil l s -were- operated by water-power. The-olt3^fttshioned gang saws were almost exclusively used. Perhaps the younger lumbermen of i to-day would not recognize one of these sawmill outfits as something ever used to produce • lumber on a commercial scale. ' But practically every foot of lumber cut in Minne­apolis In. 1878 was sawed in this way. For the Information of the layman It may be explained that the gang saws were sets of straight saws set in massive frames which moved up and down between still more massive timbers. The logs were forced against these s a w s - and- -cut-int-o-board thick­ness at .one trip. But, altho. a log had to pass thru-the «aws but once (except for squaring the edges of the boards), the movement was so slow as to make the process a very expensive one compared with the rapid band saws of to-day. Circular saws were used to some extent in 1878. Both gang and circular saws were wasteful.. of material; but logs were so cheap and plentiful in those days that the waste was little considered. The loggers would not touch small timber in the early years. Logs which are now care­fully sawed with thin blades and used up to the last splinter, were in those days rejected in the woods as not worth cutting and driving to the mills; while the big ones were out up with thick saws and the slabs and sawdust thrown into the river.

As there was no room at the mills at the falls to pile the lumber sawed, it was necessary to haul it by team to the lumber yards at a greater or less distance. Naturally the yards were located as near the mills as room could be found at a reasonable price. The consequence was that in 1878 lumber was piled on vacant property in all parts of the city, and no one thought of placing any restrictions upon this—the prominent industry of the place. About this, time there was a lumber yard at the corner of Third street and Nicollet avenwe. There were several large wholesale yards within what is now the district cir­cumscribed by the "fire limits." As practically every foot of lumber man­ufactured had to be hauled from mill to yard, the streets of the city were busy during the season with teams and great loads of new sawed and moist and fragrant pine boards.

Of all the lumber firms in business here in 1878, only one continues un­der the same name. This is McMul­len & Co. A. E. and W. H. McMul­len, partners in the firm in 187.8, are the members of the present partner­ship. This firm also operates a mill at substantially the same spot as in 1878, at the East Side dam, and is the only one still working at the falls. Another firm, J. W. Day & Co., is practically the same as Leonard Day & Sons of 1878 and Eastman, Bovey & Co. of 1878, is now Bovey-DeLaittre Lumber company. Merriman, Bar­rows & Co. Is still in business as the Merriman-Barrows 'company, with some changes in ownership.

The full list of mill owners and lumber dealers in 1878 is as follows:

Baker, W. C , River, foot Fifth ave­nue N.

Bassett, J. B. & Co., First, near Fifth avenue S. < Bennett. H. A., Tenth avenue N, corner First.

Butler, L. estate, River, between Third and Fourth avenues N.

Camp & Walker, First avenue N, oorner River.

Clark, F. P, Main, oorner Fourth avenue N.

Clarke & McClure, Fifth, between Second and Third avenues N. (E . D.)

Cole & Hammond, foot Sixth ave­nue S. • Day, L. & Sons, Third, corner Sixth avenue S.

Dean, J . & Co., Second, - c o r n e r T h i r d avenue S.

Eastman, Bovey & Co., Second, cor­ner Eleventh avenue S.

Farnham & Lovejoy, First avenue N, corner Third (B . D.)

Leavitt, Chase ft Co„ St Central avenue.

Lee Bros, ft Edgerton, office 110 Washington avenue 8.

McMullen & Co„. 100 Central ave­nue.

Mayo, F. G., Main, oorner Sixth ave­nue S.

Merriman, Barrows & Co., Sixth, corner Third avenue 8 (El. D.) . Minneapolis Lumber Co., east end Upper bridge (E. D.)

Morrison Bros., 1101 8. Fourth. Pettit, Robinson & Co., Washington

avenue, corner Ninth avenue S. Stetson $ Nelson, Sixth, corner Sec­

ond avenue N (E . D.) Washburn, W. D. & Co., proprie­

tors, Anoka mills,, office Westfall 's block.

Of the firms doing business in 1878 Camp & Walker was easily the leader in Minneapolis proper. T. B. Walker, the head of the firm, was the largest owner of pine lands in the state. The firm's mill was the largest and most completely equipped. W. D. Washburn & Co. was also a large firm. General Washburn had built the Lincoln mil l In 1865 and ever since had been en? larging his lumbering operations. I n 1874 Major W. D. Hale bought th» interest in the business which had been owned by G.. M. Stickney, and was for many years closely associated with General Washburn in business. In 1875 the firm commenced to oper* ate a large saw mill at Anoka and the lumber cut of the two mills was for a long time the largest of any flrni on the upper Mississippi. Several ot the other firms mentioned did a very extensive business.

The year 1878 was in the midst of a period of expectancy' and prepara­tion. Far-seeing men were gett ing ready for great things in the lumber business. It was plain to them that an evolution in methods was at hand and they could also foresee a vast In­crease in business with the rapid set-* tlement of the western prairies and the extension of railroads on to these treeless plains. The example of the flour milling business, which had been fairly revolutionzed within a few years, was not lost on the lumbermen. They were prepared to make the most of the future.

26 T E A R S O F LUMBERECa

Events and Developments of the P e r -iod—Minneapolis Becomes Leader As in so many other lines of b u s i ­

ness the past twenty-flve years—the years of the life of T h e J o u r n a l —have been the golden years of the> lumber business at Minneapolis. F r o m comparatively small things in 1878 the city advanced rapidly to first place among the lumbering towns of the country and has since 1890. or be-forej_ maintained' that place. That she will hold it for years to come is unquestioned. The quarter century has been full of event and progress. Only the most important and signifi­cant events and. influences can be touched upon here.

Perhaps the most importantv thing affecting the business in the earlier part of the period was the abandon­ment of water power and the change of location of the mills. This move was in part forced upon the lumber­men and in part a matter of choice. The Minneapolis Mill* company had put In its leases of water power and sites a provision that the company should at any time have the right to purchase the mills on five years no­tice.* In 1876 tlie Mlill company de­cided that the t ime had come to use the water power for flour milling- ex­clusively and accordingly began to give notice under the clause in the leases, or buy in the properties out­right. At the same time the growing inconvenience of haul ing all lumber from the mills to distant yards by team and the difficulty as the city grew of. gett ing yards at all within any reasonable distance, was causing some of the mill owners to make new plans. And besides, the mil ls at the falls were growing antiquated. N e w inventions in saw mill ing machinery were coming in. <-And to do the busi­ness which was beginning to offer i t ­self larger individual mills were re ­quired. , Still another difficulty w a s that of handling the increased quanti­ties of l o s s that were required tor a, growing business In the lower reaches of the river near the crest of the falls .

So all these and perhaps some other influences, working together induced a general movement to upper r i t e*

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