“Bad Jam of Logs” article in Greenfield’s Gazette and Courier newspaper

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From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information


About this item

Logs were floated down the Connecticut River to the paper mills of Holyoke, Massachusetts, beginning in the 1890s. Trees were first cut in the fall or early winter and then stripped of their limbs near where they had fallen. They were dragged by horses over the snow to frozen lakes and streams. When the thaw came the logs were floated along specially built sluices to tributaries of the Connecticut River. By the time they reached the river they were heavy and sodden, having been in the water for months. The ungainly logs often came together into seemingly unbreakable jams. Rivermen used dynamite to break the logs free. To keep other river traffic flowing, they made booms of logs to limit them to one side of the river.

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Details

Item typePeriodicals
Newspaper
Article
PublisherGreenfield Gazette and Courier
Date1905-07-08
PlaceTurners Falls, Massachusetts; Greenfield, Massachusetts
TopicIndustry, Occupation, Work
Land, Environment, Geography
Commerce, Business, Trade, Consumerism
EraProgressive Era, World War I, 1900–1928
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPrinting
Dimension detailsProcess Material: printed paper, ink Height: 3.50 in Width: 2.25 in
Catalog #L02.043
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Greenfield Gazette and Courier. “Bad Jam of Logs.” July 8, 1905. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-043/. Accessed on October 10, 2024.

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