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These photos show how busy the port of Bangor was back in the day. There’s lumber stacked on the deck of the ship in the foreground. In 1860, ships anchored at the port were so tightly packed that a person could walk across the river on their decks by jumping from ship to ship. The ships came to Bangor from all over the world in the mid-1800’s.

Wilson, Donald A. Logging and Lumbering in Maine Arcadia Publishing, Charlston, SC. 2001

Old growth trees regularly produced a remarkable grade of lumber in widths and lengths that are difficult to come by today.

NY Public Library collection.

Clockwise from top: 1) Shed Scott of the Great Northern Paper Co., described by some experts as the world’s greatest scaler (estimating the volume of lumber). 2) John H. Hinman, a New England logger. Made International Paper the biggest paper company in the world. 3) John Ross, the most famous river man in the world. 4) Albert Lewis (jigger) Johnson, one of the most famous camp bosses in New England. 5) Winfield Schoppe, one of the great names in logging on the Upper Connecticut in northern New Hampshire. 6) Dan Bosse, greatest river man in the North Country.  6) The lumber camp cook. 7) John Peavey in 1857 invented the tool that bears his name and that revolutionized the logging industry – “The Peavey Hook”.

This depicts logging operations on the upper reaches of the Maine Rivers. Trees were dragged over the snow to banks of the stream, and shot down in the spring on ‘swollen waters’ to such cities as Bangor, where two hundred sawmills cut logs into boards and planks before being sent to ports, most often along the East Coast, but also around the world. Ox were much stronger than horses, and used more regularly early on before teams of horses became more common.

NY Public Library collection

The Hastings Company camp on Metalluk Stream in Maine. The mix of buildings includes a blacksmith shop, a shed to store hay and grain, sleeping quarters, cooking and dining area and a utility building. Around the camp, a substantial area has already been harvested.

Wilson, Donald A. Logging and Lumbering in Maine Arcadia Publishing, Charlston, SC. 2001

Left: A typical logging crew pose. One person is generally holding a rifle, often the crew boss, who kept the camp supplied with fresh meat. Right: The rough-hewn elegance of a logging family in fancy dress in an open-air “studio.”

(left)Wilson, Donald A. Logging and Lumbering in Maine Arcadia Publishing, Charlston, SC. 2001 (right) Smithsonian Museum Collection.