Logging Lessons

A series featuring our logging collections

10 Posts

Series End

Logging Lessons

That’s a wrap on our series, Logging Lessons, featuring images and history from the Potlatch Lumber Company in North Idaho! At the beginning of this series, we discussed how early logging companies in Idaho felled trees - with a crosscut saw. Then, we discussed different methods of transporting logs from... [Read More]

Trains

Logging Lessons

Longest Logging Train
Last week, we learned about using the powerful forces of water to transport logs from a central point to the lumber mill. This week is light reading - trains were one of the most popular methods of transporting logs to lumbers, as they could transport large quantities of logs relatively... [Read More]
Tags: logging

Water

Logging Lessons

Logging Steamboat
Last week, we learned about tractors as a form of transporting logs from the forest to the railroad track or water formation (such as a river or flume). Once the logs have been transported to the railroad track or water formation, a few options remain for getting them to the... [Read More]
Tags: logging

Crawlers

Logging Lessons

Caterpillar Logging
Last week, we learned about jammers. This week, we’ll learn about the tractors that largely replaced other forms of transporting logs, including manual horses and steam donkey engines (which we covered in previous weeks!). These tractors were colloquially referred to as “crawlers,” “cats,” and “caterpillars.” [Read More]
Tags: logging

Jammers

Logging Lessons

Potlatch Jammer [1]
Last week, we learned about using steam donkey engines to transport logs from the forest floor to a central staging area. This week, we’ll learn about a railroad staging area and the use of ”jammers” or ”loaders” to load logs onto railroad cars. [Read More]
Tags: logging

Horses

Logging Lessons

Skidding Logs [1]
Last week we learned about the science behind felling trees with crosscut saws. Over the next few weeks, we’ll learn about the variety of ways that the Potlatch Lumber Company transported logs once they had been cut and cleared! [Read More]
Tags: logging

Welcome to Logging Lessons!

Log Building
We’re starting a new series featuring one of our strongest collecting areas: logging in North Idaho. We’ll be focusing on one lumber company in particular, the Potlatch Lumber Company, which is extremely well-documented within our collections and an important part of logging history in North Idaho. It was operational from... [Read More]
Tags: logging