The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

IVA IN largest Jumper InduuldC-
ME turing point In the world,
but the principal market
- - Of the northwest and the
center of an enormous bus
mess in forest and lumber products,
building materials and other closely
related articles Of trade. A saw mill
was the first commercial manufactur-
ing enterprise at the Falls of st. An
thony, and the lum bering industry has
ever since been one Of the prominent
and picturesque features of Mime
apolis business life. Tho never reach
ing as great money totals as the grain
and -four milling industries, 1t has al
ways been more conspicuous as q part
Of the business OF the city, and has
usually given employment to much
larger number of people. Until the
rapid advance Of -four milling some
twenty-five years ago, minneapolis
was known as q lumber town. me
name Flour City had not been In
vented then.
A little lumber was sawed in the old
government mill which was built at
the Falls Of st. Anthony In 1871, but
the real beginnings Of lumber manu-
featuring in Minnesota were when
saw mill was built at Marine on the
ST. Croix river, in 1889. About the
same time q saw mill was built at st.
Croix Falls, and in 1S43 one was put
up at saltwater. The industry had
quite a foothold on the st. Cro1x be-
fore any attempts were made to manu-
facture at Minneapolis. But st. An
thony falls attracted the industry
trresistibly.
The site of Minneapolis was ideal
for lumber manufacture. Stretching
away to the north, almost from the
falls themselves, extended the largest
body of pine timber to be found in one
watershed on the continent. The
arr Of Minnesota
was covered with a magnificent growth
of white pine and nearly every log
which was cut could be floated directly
to the falls thru the Mississippi and
It's tributaries. Nowhere in the east
had been found such a mighty logging
stream or better timber.
And to the south and southwest lay
the great treeless prairies which must
be supplied with lumber; SO that the
floating Of the logs to the power
which was to convert them into mer-
charitable lumber brought them that
much nearer the market. The loca-
ton was an almost perfect conJunc-
ton of bountiful supply of raw ma
terials, easy transportation to the
manufacturing point, abundant power
and a nearby and continually growing
market whose needs were imperative.
Under such conditions the lumber
industry of Minneapolis had Its be-
einntngs. 1t is true that in 1847 when
the first saw mill was built at
st. Anthony Falls there was little de-
mand from this locality for pine lum-
Der, but this demand followed rapidly.
AS to the outside demand, there never
was a time when the product of the
Minneapolis mills could not be sold to
fairly good advantage. At first the
lumber was RATED down the Missis-
sippi to Iowa and Illinois points, where
1T was shipped into the interior as
needed, but with the advent of the
railroad the great bulk Of the product
went directly to the south and south
west and, later, to the prairies OF the
Dakotas, directly west Of Minneapolis
The first mill at the falls was built
by Franklin Steele in 1S47. Ard
Godfrey, an experienced lumberman
from Maine, put UP the mill and had
an interest in 1t. 1t was a small affair
and had but two saws, which would
cut about $1,000 feet Of lumber in a
day. 1t was first opened for saving
In the spring Of 1848. This mill stood
at the east end Of a temporary dam on
the East Side. The mill was sc
profitable during the first season that
It was doubled In capacity in the fall
Of is4s. In 1S49 Arnold Nsa Taylor