Most people when they think of logging the have visions of those muscular men wielding an ax and cut down huge trees or they may even conceive of the mythical Paul Bunyan on the rear of his blue ox. Either way, logging companies and the logging industry is one of those interesting jobs that are the backbone of early America.
Today, as estimated by the World Bank timberland products simply are a $270 ,000,000,000 a year business and of course our wish to build and use wood products is certainly not decreasing . It is believed that wood usage worldwide will rise just about 20 percent 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 outset of logging companies and the logging industry only in smaller scale. The settlers that arrived in Jamestown had to have lumber to build their homes in 1607. By the start of the Industrial Revolution, lumber once again was in high demand for the shipconstruction industry.
During the 1830’s Bangor, Maine was domicile to the biggest exporting port for wood products . Between 1832 and 1888 by Pattern Lumberman’s Museum, 8.7 trillion board feet were taken out of the area . By the middle of the 1800’s paper was being fabricated from wood pulp. Before this, William Rittenhouse created the first paper plant in 1690 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. However, furor of creating paper from wood pulp did not draw on until the 19th century with rags and other materials being more popular.
During the 19th century, individuals were steering westward in search of new land. The Homestead Act in 1862 even brought more newcomers to the west as it promised settlers 160 acres per household. These acreages of land was usually densely wooded which mandated the homesteaders to clear 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 established 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 supplying the timer needed to build the settlements.
No uncertainty about it logging is dangerous 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 future.
