Michigan

The Lumber Industry

The Heyday of the Lumber Industry

After the Civil War, Michigan became the center of the lumber industry in the United States

In addition to mining, the economy of Michigan became focused on exploiting the state’s white pine forests

From 1860 until 1910, the harvesting and sawing of logs, along with the marketing of lumber, was the major non-agricultural industry of the state

Value of Forest Products, 1880

Use $ million Percentage

Wood for domestic fuel c. 307 43.9

Sawed logs 140 20.0

Unsawed timber (poles, spars, etc.)

c. 110 15.7

Wood for fencing c. 100 14.3

Fuel: railroads 5 0.7

Fuel: steamships 2 0.3

Fuel: manufacturing 8 1.1

Charcoal 5 0.7

Naval stores 6 0.9

Railroad ties 7 1.0

Lumber production in 1869, in millions of board feet (mbf)

Lumber production in 1889, in m.b.f.

The Economics of Michigan Lumber

Estimates of the number of standing white pines in major watersheds, 1880

Lumber Barons

Although many men failed, many others made huge fortunes from the logging industry—often called lumber barons The lumber industry required huge capital outlays

Fixed capital in the lumber camp, saw mill, etc. Fixed costs required capital flow throughout the year, even though

payment for the delivered product only came in the spring Any problem—a mild winter, etc.—could mean financial ruin

Of the lumbermen who became wealthy, some took their wealth and left the state when lumbering ended

Those who did not leave created a social and economic infrastructure—banks, railroads, newspapers and churches—easily adapted to subsequent new industries

Charles H. Hackley

Charles Hackley, from Muskegon, was one of the more famous "lumber barons”

Hackley arrived in Michigan in 1856 with seven dollars in his pocket

At his death in 1905, his estate was worth more than $12 million

During his lifetime and in his will, he donated more than $6 million to the city of Muskegon

1837-1905

Lumber Money in Muskegon

Hackley gave money to build a hospital, an art museum, library, park, schools, and churches

Even today many buildings, streets, and other landmarks in the Muskegon area are named for him

David Whitney, Jr. Known as "the man who could out-lumber

Paul Bunyan,“ Whitney was a multi-millionaire lumberman, vessel owner, and banker who built a fortune from the pine forest of Michigan and Wisconsin

Whitney came to Detroit from Lowell, MA about 1857. In partnership with his brother Charles and others, he built a hugely successful lumber business that spread to the Upper Peninsula, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania

He was able to buy up Michigan and Wisconsin pine lands at a cost of from $3 to $50 an acre, sometimes realizing a profit of 100 times his initial investment

In 1890 he built the five-story Grand Circus Park Building at Woodward and Park

Whitney in Detroit Whitney made his mark on Detroit, building

"some of the finest business blocks" in the city and earning him the nickname "Mr. Woodward Avenue"

In 1890 he built the five-story Grand Circus Park Building at Woodward and Park

In 1914 he built the 19-story David Whitney Building, also at Grand Circus Park

The David Whitney House was built from 1890-94 and cost $400,000

It was described as "the most elaborate and substantial residence in this part of the country" and "perhaps the costliest and most magnificent ever erected in the state"

Constructed from rosy-pink South Dakota Jasper stone, it is 21,000-square-foot, has 52 rooms (including 10 bathrooms), 218 windows, 20 fireplaces, and Tiffany glass windows

Henry H. Crapo Crapo was born in Massachusetts and had a

successful business and civic standing before migrating with his family to Flint in 1856

He invested in pinelands and established a lucrative lumbering business in the area, which by the beginning of the Civil War was one of the largest individually owned lumber firms in the state

Crapo was instrumental in the construction of the Flint and Holly Railroad, and was President of that corporation until its consolidation with the Flint and Père Marquette Railroad

He became mayor of Flint in 1860, a member of the state senate in 1862, and was elected governor in 1864

Henry H. Crapo (1804-1869)

Michigan’s Wood-Based Industries

The lumber industry helped to shape the state’s industrial landscape in the 19th and 20th centuries

Wood product industries manufactured furniture, sashes, doors, blinds, barrels, wagons, carriages, house wares, caskets, and railroad ties

Wood industries grew rapidly in the 1860s and 1870s, with a large influx of skilled immigrant labor and access to new raw material

The lumber industry also enabled Michigan to become a leader in pulp and paper production

Changes in papermaking technology is the 1870s --away from cloth and straw and toward wood pulp – led to a continued demand for logs too small for lumber ("pulp" wood)

Lumber Capital

Immense fortunes made from the lumber industry fuelled the state’s future development

One of the major reasons for the later concentration of the automobile industry in Michigan was the fact that Detroit had men with large fortunes made in lumbering and mining and who were willing to invest capital in automobile plants Henry Crapo’s grandson William Crapo Durant (Billy

Durant), for example, became the leader of Flint's carriage and automobile industry and became the founder of General Motors