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    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.

    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 ...

    Teams of horses hauling logs.

    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 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 ...

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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 ...

    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 ...

    Two sled loads of logs.