Logging And Lumbering In Maine

Known as the Pine Tree State, Maine once led the world in lumber production. It was the first great lumber-producing region, with Bangor at its center. Today, the state has nearly eighteen million acres of timberland, and forest products still make up a major industry. Logging and Lumbering in Maine examines the history from its earliest roots in 1630 to the present, providing a pictorial record of land use and activity in Maine. The state's lumber industry went through several historical periods, beginning with the vast pine and spruce harvests, the organization of major corporate interests, the change from sawlogs to pulpwood, and then to sustained yields, intensive management, and mechanized harvesting. At the beginning, much of the region was inaccessible except by water, so harvesting activities were concentrated on the coast and along the principal rivers. Gradually, as the railroads expanded and roads were constructed into the woods, operations expanded with them and the river systems became vitally important for the transportation of timber out of the woods to the markets downstate. Logging and Lumbering in Maine traces these developments in the industry, taking a close look at the people, places, forests, and machines that made them possible.

"When one thinks of Maine, one usually thinks of trees, forests, lumber, saw, pulp and paper mills. In many ways to forest and its uses are central factors in Maine history. Professor David C. Smith has written in other places about that history, but this book puts much of that knowledge together in a detailed unfolding of logging from 1860 to 1960 and its influence on the state and its economy. The book ranges from a description of life in the woods for the logger, through driving the rivers with the product of forest, to the saw mill and its manufacture and finally the shipping and sale of the end product in its foreign and domestic destinations. Attention is paid to the economy and social structure of the state and the effects of the national economy on the logger. The shift in the Maine woods to pulpwood logging and the growth of the paper mill is discussed along with the long and bitter fights for control of the rivers between downriver loggers and upriver papermakers. The long fight for the establishment of a state forestry and conservation policy is outlined, along with the career of Austin Cary, a pioneer forester. Life in the Maine woods in the twentieth century is portrayed, and such factors as the depression, the CCC, and the Second World War are also discussed. A handsome portfolio of photographs illustrating the lumbering process from the woods to the users of the products demonstrates the ubiquity of the logging business. Maine has had its forests from the beginning, their utilization is the lifeblood of the state's history. This book discusses that lifeblood and illuminates the history of the Pine Tree State. Among David Smith's published works are... "- Publisher.

The Maine Bulletin, Volume 43, Number 15, April 10, 1961.