The tough men of timber

Posted: December 18, 2015

These black and white photos capture the arduous lives and history of lumberjacks and the logging industry in the 1800s. Lumberjacks back then felled enormous trees using only hand tools and brute strength.

Lumberjack style has recently come back in vogue, with city slickers and suburbanites donning the flannel shirts of the profession as a way to lookrugged.

However, a series of photos reveal the grueling work that loggers put in during the 1800s and beginning of the 20th century, toiling through hard lives away from their families while living in camps with their coworkers.

Conservation efforts would eventually put a stop to the felling of magnificent redwood trees in places such as northern California, but logging became a huge industry across many parts of the nation as companies looked to supply wood for new housing in growing urban centers.

Lumberjacks, many of whom came from farms before heading to the woods to make money logging, took pride in the trees they cut and posed for pictures on massive stumps using the growing technology of photography.

While the work was dangerous, the woodworkers also developed sports such as logrolling that are still practiced by outdoorsmen in competitions today.

Though the job of lumberjacks has since largely been mechanized, below are photos of lumberjacks from the turn of the last century as they looked to make their mark on America using only hand tools.

We are fascinated to look back on the logging industry in the 1800s and how much has changed.