Most people when they think of logging the have visions of those muscular men wielding an ax and carving down huge trees or they may even envision the mythical Paul Bunyan on the rear of his blue ox. Either way, logging companies and the logging industry is one of those mysterious jobs that are the anchor of early America.
Today, as estimated by the World Bank woodland products simply are a $270 billion a year business and of course our desire to build and use wood products is certainly not decreasing . It is believed that wood usage worldwide will rise nearly twenty per cent by 2010 and by 2050 a whopping 50% as reported by the Resource Conservation Alliance.
A look back in history to the 1600’s is where we see the starting time of logging companies and the logging business only in smaller scale. The pioneers that arrived in the new world had to have lumber to build their homesteads in 1607. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, lumber once again was in high appeal for the shipbuilding business.
During the 1830’s Bangor, Maine was home to the biggest shipping port for timber . Between 1832 and 1888 by Pattern Lumberman’s Museum, 8.7 trillion board feet were removed out of the area . By the middle of the 1800’s paper was being created from wood pulp. Before this, William Rittenhouse started the first paper mill in 1690 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. However, furor of creating paper from wood stock did not draw on until the 19th century with rags and other components being more popular.
During the 19th century, individuals were heading westward in exploration of new land. The Homestead Act in 1862 even brought more newcomers to the west as it gave settlers 160 acres per family. This acreages of land was usually heavily wooded which required the homesteaders to bare the land before building their homes. Not only were the settlers clearing the land and using the lumber to build homesteads , but also timber was becoming less common in the Midwest and log buyers were seeking new areas and resources.
The 20th century brought logging companies to the Pacific Northwest, which soon became the place for quality lumber . The first sawmill in the area was formal in the 1820’s and by 1890 one billion board of timber was being harvested by logging companies in Washington, as reported by the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest at the University of Washington.
Early logging companies cut the way, literally, for families and settlers to live the dream throughout America whether in the way of clearing the land or supply the timer needed to build the settlements.
No doubt about it logging is life-threatening work. There is simply no way to rationalize with a falling tree. Add to all that the uncertainty of the job climate, the hustlers and the hucksters and you have a colorful industry with a rich history and vibrant time to come.
