UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter The Forestry Industry

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-As settlement spread across the U.S. (westward), the demand for lumber increased

-Settlement on the Great Plains was increasing, with very little timber there to support the region’s growth

-The forests of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota would support growth there

-Settlers needed wood to make tools, shingle, doors and general lumber for building homes, barns

UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter

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UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter The “Pinery”

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-Northern Wisconsin held one of the largest stands of white pine in the world

-It soon became known as the “Pinery”

-Some of the largest white pines in Wisconsin were: -8 feet wide -200 feet tall -500 years old

-White pines was a desirable variety of wood because: -It resisted rotting

-It floated (high in the water) -The logs were straight

-It was soft and easy to cut-Had no real odor

UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter Lumbering

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-Lumbering in WI began in the mid 1800s

-It was centered first in Stevens Point on the Wisconsin River

-Lumberjacks, Europeans, Euro-

Americans and tribal members worked during the winter

-Snow and ice allowed lumberjacks to, more easily, transport logs

UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter On the Rivers

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-When rivers thawed in spring, lumberjacks floated the logs downriver—on a log drive

-Logs were stamped by logging companies for identification and sorting

-Logs had to be tended to along the way by lumbermen

-Log jams were a potential problem and caused delays

-Sawmills had to be located along rivers to accommodate log drives

UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter On the Rivers

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UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter Railroads, Not Rivers

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-Railroad transformed the entire lumber industry

With Railroads:

•Logs could be moved over land

•Logging camps moved off the rivers

•More forest (previously unreachable) could be harvested

•Hardwoods could be harvested

•Lumbering could be done year round

UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

Chapter The Sawmill

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-Cities grew up quickly around sawmills

-Known as “sawdust cities”

-By the mid 1880s, lumber-related jobs became the #1 employment in WI

UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories The Lumber Industry

-In the 1890s, WI logging reached its peak

-Lumber barons (mill owners) became wealthy and powerful in these cities (& state)