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    Ox-Bow banking grounds. The "ox-bow" was named for a twisting stretch of the Thunder Bay River that resembled a yoke used to harness oxen. The banking grounds (on the banks of the river) were where logs were hauled prior to being put in the river to be sent to the ...

    Churchill Lumber Mill at the mouth of the Thunder Bay River. The cone shaped structure is a "burner" used to burn sawdust, bark, and trimmings. Floating "booms," made of logs chained together, separated the property of one company from that of another. From the booms, logs were floated to the ...

    Felling a tree using a cross-cut saw. The saw replaced the axe, which led to increased efficiency. Information taken from "Lumbering in Michigan" by Maria Quinlan.

    A load of logs being taken to the banking grounds. The development of rutters and water sprinklers to maintain the sled tracks enabled the woodsmen to haul heavier loads. A rutter was a devise that attached to a log sled runner and cleared the ruts in the road for the ...

    Loggers peeling bark from trees. This was usually done with cedar and hemlock trees. Tannin was extracted from hemlock bark to be used in the leather tanning process.

    Stacks of lumber along the Thunder Bay River waiting to be loaded on to ships. Prentiss Lumber Mill is at the center. Note the masts of schooners in the river.

    Teams of horses hauling logs.

    A team of oxen being used in a logging operation. Oxen were more commonly used is Southern Michigan and were eventually replaces with horses. Oxen were often preferred to horses, because they could be led, whereas the driver of a team of horses could not see the road over the ...

    A cook shack at the sire of a logging operation. There was usually a head cook, assistants, and a "chore boy." Three meals a day were served with lunch being taken to the men in the woods.

    The banking grounds (on the banks of the river) were where logs were hauled prior to being put in the river to be sent to the sawmill.

    Two sled loads of logs.

    Two lumberjacks are felling a large tree using what is known as a crosscut saw. A man, who could be a supervisor, is overseeing the felling of the tree. In the background there is a lumberjack using an axe on a tree as if he is starting to chop the ...

    A group of lumberjacks, holding cant hooks, are either pulling logs from the river or putting them into the river for transporting them. (Possibly Thunder Bay River in Alpena County.)

    In the background is Churchill Lumber Company saw mill. There are two wood burners burning the waste. (also known as a teepee burner or a wigwam burner). Logs are floating in the river, waiting to be sorted in the sorting gaps. There is a wooden vessel docked to the right ...

    Two white horses are hitched up to a skid loaded with seven large logs. There is a lumberjack sitting on top of the pile of logs. Another lumberjack is in the background, on the right side, holding a cant hook.

    Two oxen have pulled a log to add to the pile of logs. (Oxen are generally cattle that have been trained to work by yoke and collar. Most oxen are castrated males. The horns keep the yoke from coming off their heads while they are backing up.) Lumberjacks are posing ...

    Here is a Cookhouse at a lumber camp in Alpena, Michigan. The people would be the Cook and the helpers (which are called bullcooks, flunkeys or cookees) that handled the food.

    There are stacks of lumber at Prentiss Lumber Company. Boards are stacked getting ready for shipping. There is a wood waste burner (also known as a teepee burner or a wigwam burner).

    A group of lumberjacks are removing the bark from a tree at a lumber camp in Alpena County.

    After cutting the timber in Alpena, Michigan, the logs are then put into piles. Three horse teams are ready to pull the large logs. They are taking the logs to the river.