Williamsport: Timber Boom
Published on Nov 19, 2015
Visual history of the boom and bust of Williamsport during the late 1800s
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The West Branch of the Susquehanna flowed through a vast, majestic pine and hemlock forest.
White pine was valuable due to its straight-grain and resistance to rot.
Initially, the only way to get the trees out was to float them down the river
The Sinnemahoning, Loyalsock and Clearfield Rivers and their tributaries all flowed into the Susquehanna where sawmills had been built.
Photo by The Forest History Society
Williamsport became a logging hub in 1838.
The West Branch Canal linked Williamsport to the rest of Pennsylvania in 1834 and it did not take long for big city investors in Philadelphia to setup a sawmill there.
Lumberjacks and raftsmen rode the logs to the mills
Log drives always happened in the spring when the waters of the rivers were swollen with runoff from the winter snows.
The water would be choked with millions of logs during the driving season. Each was branded, like cattle, for sorting at the mills.
The water would be choked with millions of logs during the driving season. Each was branded, like cattle, for sorting at the mills.
A gigantic boom was constructed to catch and hold the logs
Flooding could break loose thousands of logs that would continue down the river.
A boom, sunken cribs filled with rocks, was built in the late 1840s to contain the logs until they could be sorted and distributed.
The Susquehanna Boom was six miles long and enclosed 450 acres.
A boom, sunken cribs filled with rocks, was built in the late 1840s to contain the logs until they could be sorted and distributed.
The Susquehanna Boom was six miles long and enclosed 450 acres.
The Lumber Capital of the World
The Civil War only increased the demand for raw lumber. Planing mills turned the city into a manufacturing hub; products included toys, furniture and even whole houses.
Together lumber and manufacturing helped make Williamsport the home to more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States.
Together lumber and manufacturing helped make Williamsport the home to more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States.
The construction of railroads directly to the forests reverses the city's fortunes.
By the 1880s, the same timber barons who had built the mills in Williamsport bypassed it completely when they built railroads to the forests and mills on site.
The town would continue to be in the lumber business for another 20 years, but would never again enjoy the economic success of earlier.
The town would continue to be in the lumber business for another 20 years, but would never again enjoy the economic success of earlier.
Photo by SSAVE w/ over 1,000,000 views THX
The end of an era.
The flood of 1894 broke the Boom that had been keeping the city relevant in the lumber industry. Over two million board feet of lumber washed away.
The Boom was able to operate for another decade +, but finally closed up in 1908. By this time, the town had long since gone into a depression as industry faded away.
The Boom was able to operate for another decade +, but finally closed up in 1908. By this time, the town had long since gone into a depression as industry faded away.
