St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company
Encyclopedia
The St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company was founded in 1802 by a Colonel Cecil C. Clay, a former US Army Brigadier-General from Philadelphia.
Colonel Clay recognized the natural resources in the large stands of virgin white pine
and red spruce
in Pocahontas County
, which today involves enormous portions of the Monongahela National Forest
. At this point in history, loggers calculated that these massive forests would have time to replenish themselves by the time they cut from one side of the wilderness to the other.
White pine was an extremely useful wood. It was light, versatile, and capable of supplying many different needs in paper, furniture, and household materials. An enterprising logger could purchase a stand of promising forest, erect his own mill, cut and process the logs and float them down the river. Sawmill towns mushroomed in West Virginia
and especially in its Eastern Panhandle.
The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company brought the first log drive down the Greenbrier River
and soon erected "The Big Mill" out of the choicest timbers. From this beginning emerged the largest softwood
mill in the country. Over time, much of the Greenbrier River
was harnessed for this form of heavy water-traffic. The river was sculpted with dams
, spills, holding areas for the timbers, eyots to control the speed of the flow, cribs
, water-pockets and sluiceways. Storage was needed for the millions of logs cut from Pocahontas
and upper Greenbrier
counties. As BJ Gudmundsson of Patchwork Films reported:
In 24 years the Company sawed 433000000 board feet (1,021,766.1 m³) of white pine.
Lumberjacks worked with giant log arks 100 feet (30.5 m) long and special logging bateau
that were tough and quick. A single error could spell disaster, and the work could be very dangerous.
Springtime floods were vital in order to float down this large amount of timber, and high water meant industry rather than inconvenience to the citizens of Ronceverte. However, the initial calculations that the forests would 'last forever' ended with the incoming superiority of the railroad. Tracklines were created, such as the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad The trains could haul the trees out of the forests much faster than the river could float them down. The days of the rivermen were at an end.
On Saint Patrick's Day
of 1908, the Greenbrier River
witnessed its last log run. Pocahontas
Times editor Cal Price explained in an interview by West Virginia
film maker, BJ Gudmundsson for Patchwork Films, how everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the logs float down the Greenbrier River
for the last time. They knew it was the end of an era. In 1911, the Weeks Act
was passed, ensuring the protection of large portions of land from logging in the Monongahela National Forest
. This Forest remains a large supply of clean drinking water for many watersheds
. In 1915 the first 7200 acres (29.1 km²) were purchased.
The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company is one of the "central backdrops" to the plot of Pocahontas County
author W. E. Blackhurst
book, "Riders of the Flood." Every September the town of Ronceverte holds an outdoor drama of Riders of the Flood just belowstream the location of the mill company.
Extensive river maps of the lower Greenbrier River
(from the town of Caldwell
to Hinton
} and the upstream logging traces were published by the Virginia Canals & Navigation Society
Colonel Ellery Campbell Best, who is listed in the "Prominent Men of West Virginia," joined the Company in 1882 and rose to Vice President. He later became president of the Rush River Coal Company, and mayor of Ronceverte. He encouraged the presence of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Ronceverte.
Colonel Clay recognized the natural resources in the large stands of virgin white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
and red spruce
Red Spruce
Picea rubens is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and from New England south in the Adirondack Mountains and Appalachians to western North Carolina.-Physical description:...
in Pocahontas County
Pocahontas County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
, which today involves enormous portions of the Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...
. At this point in history, loggers calculated that these massive forests would have time to replenish themselves by the time they cut from one side of the wilderness to the other.
White pine was an extremely useful wood. It was light, versatile, and capable of supplying many different needs in paper, furniture, and household materials. An enterprising logger could purchase a stand of promising forest, erect his own mill, cut and process the logs and float them down the river. Sawmill towns mushroomed in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and especially in its Eastern Panhandle.
The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company brought the first log drive down the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
and soon erected "The Big Mill" out of the choicest timbers. From this beginning emerged the largest softwood
Softwood
The term softwood is used to describe wood from trees that are known as gymnosperms.Conifers are an example. It may also be used to describe trees, which tend to be evergreen, notable exceptions being bald cypress and the larches....
mill in the country. Over time, much of the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
was harnessed for this form of heavy water-traffic. The river was sculpted with dams
DAMS
Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...
, spills, holding areas for the timbers, eyots to control the speed of the flow, cribs
Cribs
Cribs may refer to:*The Cribs, a band from the United Kingdom*MTV Cribs, a reality television program on MTV...
, water-pockets and sluiceways. Storage was needed for the millions of logs cut from Pocahontas
Pocahontas County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
and upper Greenbrier
Greenbrier County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,453 people, 14,571 households, and 9,922 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 17,644 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
counties. As BJ Gudmundsson of Patchwork Films reported:
The Greenbrier RiverGreenbrier RiverThe Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
was harnessed at Ronceverte with dams, cribs, booms, pockets and equipment to receive and store the endless millions of logs cut from the mountains of upper Greenbrier and Pocahontas sections and floated down to feed the ravenous and unending whirling buzzing saws. They had a capacity of 110,000 board feet per day.
In 24 years the Company sawed 433000000 board feet (1,021,766.1 m³) of white pine.
Lumberjacks worked with giant log arks 100 feet (30.5 m) long and special logging bateau
Bateau
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes...
that were tough and quick. A single error could spell disaster, and the work could be very dangerous.
Springtime floods were vital in order to float down this large amount of timber, and high water meant industry rather than inconvenience to the citizens of Ronceverte. However, the initial calculations that the forests would 'last forever' ended with the incoming superiority of the railroad. Tracklines were created, such as the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad The trains could haul the trees out of the forests much faster than the river could float them down. The days of the rivermen were at an end.
On Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
of 1908, the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
witnessed its last log run. Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
Times editor Cal Price explained in an interview by West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
film maker, BJ Gudmundsson for Patchwork Films, how everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the logs float down the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
for the last time. They knew it was the end of an era. In 1911, the Weeks Act
Weeks Act
The Weeks Act is a federal law passed by the US Congress on 1 March 1911 in the United States. The law, introduced by Congressman John W. Weeks of Massachusetts, authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to "Examine, locate and recommend for purchase ... such lands within the watersheds of navigable...
was passed, ensuring the protection of large portions of land from logging in the Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...
. This Forest remains a large supply of clean drinking water for many watersheds
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
. In 1915 the first 7200 acres (29.1 km²) were purchased.
The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company is one of the "central backdrops" to the plot of Pocahontas County
Pocahontas County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
author W. E. Blackhurst
W. E. Blackhurst
Warren E. "Tweard" Blackhurst was an author and a lifelong resident of the Cass community who centered on the culture of eastern West Virginia where the higher elevations supported northern pine forests...
book, "Riders of the Flood." Every September the town of Ronceverte holds an outdoor drama of Riders of the Flood just belowstream the location of the mill company.
Extensive river maps of the lower Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
(from the town of Caldwell
Caldwell
- People with the surname Caldwell :* Alexander Caldwell, American politician* Alfred Caldwell, American landscape architect* Andre Caldwell, American football player* Anne Caldwell, American librettist* Ben Caldwell, cartoonist...
to Hinton
Hinton, West Virginia
Hinton is a city in Summers County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,880 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Summers County. Hinton was established in 1873 and chartered in 1897. Hinton was named for John "Jack" Hinton, a prominent lawyer of Summers County and husband of...
} and the upstream logging traces were published by the Virginia Canals & Navigation Society
Colonel Ellery Campbell Best, who is listed in the "Prominent Men of West Virginia," joined the Company in 1882 and rose to Vice President. He later became president of the Rush River Coal Company, and mayor of Ronceverte. He encouraged the presence of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Ronceverte.