THE TIMBER INDUSTRY

1. THE TIMBER INDUSTRY An open note quiz tomorrow!!

2. http://www.etsu.edu/cass/archives/subjects/hardwoods/Page1.htmhttp://www.etsu.edu/cass/archives/subjects/hardwoods/Page1.htm

3. 2 PHASES OF LOGGING • 1880: Selective cutting: • The best trees • 50 cents/ft • “rafting” • Labor was done by mountaineers

5. Effects of selective cutting: • Didn’t alter mountain life • But: • Uncertainty of supply • Long time • Damaged wood

6. 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

7. 1920 Forestry Film • http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5za4i_1920-forestry-logging-equipment-fil_tech

8. Combining coal and timber interests became common after 1900 • Exploiting both mineral and timber rights • Broad form deeds

9. 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?

10. 1910: machine logging begins, leading to large-scale destruction of mountain forests • “clear cutting” with bandsaws

11. 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

12. 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

13. An interesting “paternalistic” approach • The poor, backward mountaineers needed these educated, upper/middle class people to save the region

14. 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.