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Explore the evolution of the timber industry from selective cutting in the 1880s to the widespread machine logging of the 1910s. We discuss the effects of these practices on Appalachian communities and the environment, the introduction of broad form deeds, and the rise of a conservation movement. The timber boom brought both economic opportunity and ecological consequences, shaping the region's landscape and communities. Discover how the logging industry transformed over three decades and its implications for the future of natural resource management.
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THE TIMBER INDUSTRY An open note quiz tomorrow!!
http://www.etsu.edu/cass/archives/subjects/hardwoods/Page1.htmhttp://www.etsu.edu/cass/archives/subjects/hardwoods/Page1.htm
2 PHASES OF LOGGING • 1880: Selective cutting: • The best trees • 50 cents/ft • “rafting” • Labor was done by mountaineers
Effects of selective cutting: • Didn’t alter mountain life • But: • Uncertainty of supply • Long time • Damaged wood
The Boom • 1890: 2nd phase • 1891: Railroad from Lexington to Breathitt opens the timberlands • Hundreds of thousands of acres sold to railroad and timber companies for as little as 20 cents/acre • By 1900, southern Appalachia contributed 30% of total amount of hardwood timber cut in US
1920 Forestry Film • http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5za4i_1920-forestry-logging-equipment-fil_tech
Combining coal and timber interests became common after 1900 • Exploiting both mineral and timber rights • Broad form deeds
A blog entry, from all people, an actress: • What is the Broad Form Deed? (read completely before defining) • Describe how John C.C. Mayo “worked” people to get them to sign the deed? • Why would deeds separate mineral rights from ownership of land? What’s the purpose? • How are families affected by broad form deeds? Explain the long-term impact. • When did KY restrict broad form deeds? • What is the major issue that our forests face today?
1910: machine logging begins, leading to large-scale destruction of mountain forests • “clear cutting” with bandsaws
Effects: • Great woods fires • Impact on streams and creeks—floods and worthless bottom lands • Destruction of mountain way of life and self-sufficiency • Migration from farming to industrial life
BUT…. • By beginning of 20th century, a conservation movement begins • Part of Progressive political movement • Progress through industrial growth should be done orderly and efficiently, managing natural resources wisely • Other groups, like Sierra Club, sought to abolish all logging and mining
An interesting “paternalistic” approach • The poor, backward mountaineers needed these educated, upper/middle class people to save the region
The End • The logging industry drastically reduced after WWI. And replaced by the mining companies. The timber boom was 30 years, but its effects were long-lasting and far-reaching.
