We did find another attraction in Lufkin to visit, the "East Texas Forestry Museum".
WOOD SCULPTURE AT MUSEUM ENTRANCE
During our visit they were holding classes for fourth graders.
Not all of Texas is desert, there is nearly 60 million acres of forestland ranging from pines in the eastern portion, to junipers in the western portion. The shaded areas on the map are woodlands.
The front end of the museum is a little history of Texas' beginning.
Believe it or not, the US still celebrates Juneteenth. Today the official name is Juneteenth National Independence Day, and is a federal holiday celebrated on June 19th.
Moving from the hall of knowledge we entered the story of those that labored in the forest industry in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Towns like Lufkin, TX grew to handle the demands for lumber, and most of the towns were located in the densely wooded areas of Texas. These towns were often called "sawmill towns". The lumber companies offered jobs logging, transporting the logs, and working in the mills turning the trees into pulp and lumber products. They provided housing for the families that came along with logging employees, a commissary, and other services. The logging companies being what they were ensured that the loggers stayed indebted to the lumber company, hence the term "I owe my soul to the company store".
TYPICAL SAWMILL TOWN TURN OF THE CENTURY
In the early years cutting trees was done manually, and hauled out by animal, or if fortunate enough to be close to water, sent down river to the mill. Those working in the forest were working in the "front camp", and could have their families with them. Once an area was "logged out", they moved to another section of the forest.
Loggers, also known as "flatheads" set the speed of the mill production by the amount of trees cut down... no trees, the mill shut down until some arrived. Tools of the trade:
Here were a group of loggers taking time for a picture. Notice their saws and all the axes; it was back breaking work.
GAS POWERED CHAINSAW
With the introduction of the two-man gas powered chainsaw, cutting small trees was quicker and more efficient. Yet in 1924 there was the introduction of a new chainsaw:
This chainsaw was capable of felling trees and bucking (cutting into smaller sections) for transport.
FIRST CHAINSAW USED IN TEXAS
(GREY STANDING UP)
Getting the trees off site was another task altogether. The loggers responsible for loading the logs were known as "skidders". Once a tree hit the ground it was first hauled out by oxen or mule on a "high wheel" cart, only one log at a time.
HIGH-WHEEL CART
The next step up were wagons that could haul more than one log at a time, but still required animals to pull it.
One major improvement for the logging industry was the train. Spurs were created to reach the logging camps, and with this a new opportunity was developed, the steam skidder.
STEAM SKIDDER
The steam skidder was a much faster way to load logs, but with speed came more dangerous conditions.
Did you ever wonder how a specific logging company got credit for timber when it got to the mill...
Before a log was ever cut, there was a worker called a "scaler" evaluating the log.
SCALER INSTRUCTION BOOKS
The instruction books made it easier for the scaler to decide what size lumber would be cut from each log. They were also responsible for ensuring that no metal was in the log; at that time it was only a visual, and possibly with a magnet.
The hazard of metal in the log could mean the shearing off of saw teeth, ruining the blade, and metal flying about injuring workers. In 1933 it cost the company $300.00 to replace a sawblade; and don't forget the loss of production.
Once the logs got to the mill it took machines to make it usable lumber products.
STEAM ENGINE (ca 1900)
These engines were dynamos, operating at 150 rpm, providing 150 HP to drive that 18"x36" cylinder, which produced approximately 35,000 board feet a day. This was rough lumber that went to another station for fine tuning.
Fine tuning a log came after it was cut to required dimensions determined.
THE SAWYER
THE BLOCK SETTER
The sawyer and block setter worked as a team. The sawyer would determine the best way to cut the log to get the most from it, and the block setter would turn and secure the log in the perfect cutting position.
That fine tuning occurred at the planning mill:
MOULDER-PLANER
This machine would smooth the rough lumber, and add tongue and groove to the finished product, making it ready for market.
SIDE NOTE: you hear people on DIY shows talk about "ship lap" boards, this was what the machine was producing; used widely in the early 20th century to build homes.
There were several jobs in this part of the mill too.
EDGER MAN
TRIMMER-SAW MAN
The edger man job was to remove the remaining bark, and cut the block into planks. The trimmer-saw man's responsibility was to cut the planks to the exact lengths.
SIDE NOTE: in the 19th and early 20th centuries the lumber was cut to exact sizes, meaning a 2"x4" plank was just that, 2"x4". Today a 2"x4" is really a 1 1/2"x3 1/2" piece of lumber.
You can see that a tree goes through a lot to become a part of your home. But don't forget that it also was a piece of everyday life before the 1980's. What I am referring to is... paper. There still is a lot of paper produced, but there are fewer factories.
PAPER DRESS
ROLL OF PAPER
There were still many other jobs in the logging industry I will now mention: Mill Managers, accountants, Commissary Managers, clerks, doctors, postmasters, and timekeepers.
There also were jobs that were considered "unfireable" jobs: saw filers, sawyers, and highly skilled engineers. If the employee knew their job at a high level, they could stay for a long time at the company.
Remember I said something about owing one's soul to the company store... this was how the company did it:
COMPANY TOKENS
Employees were paid with these tokens, which were good only in that company's stores; it was the way that companies exploited the employees. Eventually unions changed how the lumber industry treated its employees. This change occurred through the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, making illegal to pay in scrip.
For the lumber industry there came a decline here in Texas. In 1907 the industry was pumping out 2.25 billion board feet of lumber, and by the 1930's they were only pumping out 500 million board feet. There were several reasons for this decline, one was "cut-and-get-out" philosophy, the other was the Great Depression.
The bigger hurt of the two was probably the cut-and-get-out philosophy, it did not look ahead, and replant. One company out of Diboll did have the foresight to replant, so they did have a renewable source.
FUN FACT: a women's work was not easy caring for the family, and the logging companies were gracious in helping with her chores. Most families had biscuits with their breakfast, and cornbread for lunch. Here is where the logging companies were so gracious to help the wives: before lunch break, a whistle would sound, known as the cornbread whistle, to let the wives know to start the cornbread so it would be ready when their husbands got home. Not so much of a fun fact I would say.
We then headed outside to see some of the equipment used in logging.
SIDE NOTE: this was a tree that was cut down here in East Texas in 1939; it was a seedling in 1579.
The center started in 1579, many events have been indicated by the rings. Yes, that is Carol and I photo ghosting the picture.
Ok, back to outside exhibits.
If you remember from earlier I said one of the reasons for a decline in logging here was due to the cut-and-get-out philosophy. Sometime during those days an inventor came up with a way to replant and renew the resource:
THE TREE PLANTER
The tree planter was pulled behind a tractor that dug a furrow in the ground, a worker on the planter would drop a seedling in the furrow, and angled rear wheels would push dirt back in the furrow.
Another change in technology came in the way logs arrived at the loading area:
FRANKLIN WILDCAT SKIDDER
Gas powered and able to move a tree from the stump area and deliver it to the loading area. This piece of equipment replaced the animal driven skidder and the railcar skidder. They were able to maneuver in different terrains and directions. They were also given the name "Dragon Wagon" by the workers.
STEAM DRIVEN LOADER CRANE
This set up actually was used until the 1950's, then retired from service.
The loader cables could skid logs to the tracks from a distance up to 500 feet.
DERRICK CAR
(a.k.a. RAILROAD CRANE)
Smaller cranes like this one were most often used in railroad yards to move material around the yard.
This particular derrick car was used by the Angelina and Neches River Railroad to build and repair railroad bridges. The wheels on the car locked down on the rails during use.
ATHEY WAGON
This wagon was pulled by a tractor and usually used in swampy areas. The wagon would be loaded with logs, then transported to a more accessible loading site. You might be wondering about that tractor pulling this wagon, and a swampy work area... well they planned for that, the tractor had a winch and cable attached to the front of the tractor to pull it out if it did get stuck.
LOGGING ARCH
It was used similar to the high wheel cart on exhibit, and shown earlier.
Customers would enter through the two doors, which were separate rooms (segregation theme), whites in one, all others through the other door. The depot agent and clerk worked out of the larger room with the potbelly stove. Down the hall the freight was received at the back doors and into the holding room.
Passengers would procure their ticket from the logging company commissary store, until 1936. The logging company invested almost $2300.00 to build this depot. The lumber used to build the depot was salvaged from a millpond of a mill that burned down, and was not going to be rebuilt. At the time of this depot, a round trip ticket from Camden to Moscow cost passengers .50￠. Even tourist would buy tickets to ride the seven-mile scenic route.
When the local sawmill closed down in 1968, the depot was sold and used as a camp cabin until 1977. In 1977 the depot was donated to the museum.
Technology came a long way since the early days of logging, and here is a good example:
RAILROAD CALL BOOTH
Those early days required someone from the train to get to a call box, then called in for assistance if broke down, or would be delayed. Today all the train needs to do is get on whatever their form of communications, probably radio, and notify the command center.
This was a very informative museum, we were both glad we stopped by.
