Williamsport :
Published on Nov 24, 2015
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Williamsport :
Epicenter of the Timber Boom
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The majestic white pines were some of the most valuable trees in North America
- They are towering over 150 feet above the forest floor.
- They were straight-grained, tough and resistant to warp and rot,
- They were straight-grained, tough and resistant to warp and rot,
The only way to get the trees out was to float them down to the saw mills on the Susquehanna River
- In 1834, linked Williamsport to the rest of Pennsylvania, a group of Philadelphia investors opened the first sawmill in Williamsport, and great timber began in 1838
Susquehanna's shallow
- Each spring, when melting snows turned the Susquehanna's shallow and lazy waters into swollen highways, the great log drives would begin.
- Like the western longhorns, each log had its brand, burned into both ends
- Like the western longhorns, each log had its brand, burned into both ends
The big problem was how to hold the lumber safely until it could be cut
- Logs regularly broke loose and continued to float down the river.
- In the late 1840s, 2 Maine timber men figured out a solution. A bend in the river above Williamsport drew the logs to the south side of the river, where they could be contained.
- They completed the Susquehanna Boom in 1851
- In the late 1840s, 2 Maine timber men figured out a solution. A bend in the river above Williamsport drew the logs to the south side of the river, where they could be contained.
- They completed the Susquehanna Boom in 1851
The Susquehanna Boom helped make Williamsport the Lumber Capital of the World
- After the Civil War broke out, the nation needed more lumber than ever.
- Between 1868 and 1906, its mills sawed more than eight billion feet of white pine
- By the late 1870s, the pine was LARGELY gone, so the loggers turned their saws on the largest stands of hemlock in North America
- Between 1868 and 1906, its mills sawed more than eight billion feet of white pine
- By the late 1870s, the pine was LARGELY gone, so the loggers turned their saws on the largest stands of hemlock in North America
Clear-cutting forests for lumber.
- The forests of the Susquehanna Basin made the entrepreneurs of Williamsport rich.
- Williamsport boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States.
- After finishing the cut lumber, Williamsport manufacturers made furniture, toys, packing boxes and whole houses ready to be shipped by rail for assembly
- Williamsport boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States.
- After finishing the cut lumber, Williamsport manufacturers made furniture, toys, packing boxes and whole houses ready to be shipped by rail for assembly
Railroads for logs in Timber Boom
- The good times lasted close to 70 years, until a timber bust followed the timber boom.
- By the 1880s the timber barons were building railroads into PA's northern woods and using portable sawmills to cut wood on site that could then be hauled directly to market.
- No longer dependent upon streams and rivers to float the logs to towns with mills, the railroads made logging a year-round operation.
- By the 1880s the timber barons were building railroads into PA's northern woods and using portable sawmills to cut wood on site that could then be hauled directly to market.
- No longer dependent upon streams and rivers to float the logs to towns with mills, the railroads made logging a year-round operation.
The great flood of 1894.
- By the late 1880s, it was cheaper to bring logs to Williamsport by rail than river.
- When the Great flood of 1894 broke the Boom and washed close to 2 million board feet of lumber down the river, the party was over
- In May 1908, the Susquehanna Boom Company disbanded
- The following year, the boom was dismantled, and the water era of sawmilling was over.
- When the Great flood of 1894 broke the Boom and washed close to 2 million board feet of lumber down the river, the party was over
- In May 1908, the Susquehanna Boom Company disbanded
- The following year, the boom was dismantled, and the water era of sawmilling was over.
Clear-cutting forest
-By 1908, little remained of the great woods of Pennsylvania.
- American timber barons were clear-cutting their way through Minnesota, Wisconsin and other states farther to the west.
- In PA, the challenge was no longer how to cut the trees and get them to market, but how to protect what little remained and how to rejuvenate the millions of acres stripped of their riches and then abandoned
- American timber barons were clear-cutting their way through Minnesota, Wisconsin and other states farther to the west.
- In PA, the challenge was no longer how to cut the trees and get them to market, but how to protect what little remained and how to rejuvenate the millions of acres stripped of their riches and then abandoned
