Big Lumber Business

[Abby Brown] The mighty Mississippi has had a significant impact on Iowa's history. Add in the establishment of the railroad in the second half of the 1800s, and everything was just ripe for Clinton, Iowa, to become the lumber capital of the world.

(Map marking Clinton County, Iowa, on the east central side of the state.)

From the 1850s to the 1890s, there were about 20 sawmills in Iowa river towns like this one.

A sawmill is a factory that cuts trees into boards or lumber that can be used for construction. Those mills are all gone now. But here at the Sawmill Museum in Clinton, Iowa, you get to learn about the history and influence of the lumber industry on this community, as well as other parts of the Midwest too.

(Train wheels roll along steel tracks.)

Just like the railroad made westward expansion in our country easier, processed lumber made constructing houses, businesses and barns quicker and easier.

But where did that lumber come from? Well trees, of course, from the heavily forested areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

(A historical, black and white photograph shows a team of eight horses preparing to pull a downed tree trunk, that is as thick as the height of an adult man, out of a forested area.)

At that time, trees were cut down up north and floated down the Mississippi River to sawmills in Iowa. After they were cut into boards, they could be loaded onto trains and transported anywhere the railroad went.

The lumber business became big business and big money. The operators of big lumber businesses were called lumber barons. Some lumber barons became millionaires.

The lumber business was hard work. Loggers, mill workers and raftsmen often worked in dangerous conditions and for pay that was nowhere near what the lumber barons made.

Eventually, steam power made transporting logs down river easier and boosted the capabilities of sawmill equipment too. But danger was still part of the job.

1892 was the peak year for lumber production in this area. With enough lumber sold to build 25,000 houses and businesses. Wow!

Poor economic conditions in the country slowed construction down in 1893, just about the time that the northern forests were all used up.

The lumber barons had made a big mistake. They never thought of planting new seeds to replace the trees that were chopped down. So when the trees were gone, they were just gone. This mistake is the very reason why there are now rules about planting new trees as grown trees are cut down. A look around the Sawmill Museum illustrates the 50 year lifespan of sawmills in Iowa. They left a lasting impact that lives on in the buildings that still stand all over the Midwest.

Every county in Iowa has a raft of stories to tell. And here in Clinton, Iowa, the history of sawmills is an important one.

Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.