Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-12-11
LOG JAM GAVE
ELECTRIC CITY
FIRST SAWM[ILL

A log jam on Smith river was In
directly responsible for establishment
a the first sawmiu in Great Falls .
little more than So years ago.
A portion Of the first board cut at
the little mill on the banks Of the
Missouri river near the present water
works pumping plant. Is to be found
today In the public library.
The story Of the founding of the
nrst sawmin here was revived by the
recent arrival in Great Falls Of E. L.
wan, who moved his plant to Great
base. It vas his father, Thomas A.
Wan, who moved his plant to Great
Pals in 1884 so that a contract be-
tween Ira Myers and Paris Gibson
could be fulfilled.
The day the first operations at the
mill were conducted here Thomas
Wall handed the first cut to. Myers,
remarking:
IF you're going to make great city
here. you'd better keep this. In so or
100 years it will be a curiosity"
Myers gave portion of the board
to Gibson and retained the remainder.
Shortly before his death Gibson told
Myers he had lost his portion of the
board and suggested that Myers
should present his to the Commercial
club for preservation. The preSenta-
ton was made and the board was soon
added to the historical collection Of
the public library.
Costly Ffrewood
The founding OF the first sawmill
here hinged on the price of firewood
In Fort Benton and Gibson's plans
for building the city of Great Falls.
The log jam on Smith river is what
eventually brought the logs to Great
Falls.
Myers had been in the cattle busi-
ness near Choteau. He sold out and
on a business trip to Fort Benton
found wood selling at $12 a cord. He
remembered a stand Of timber on
Smith river south and west of Great
Falls and conceived the idea of cutting
trees there. floating them down to
Fort Benton and cutting them up for
wood.
In the fall of 1883 Myers hired
crew Of 20 men to fell the trees and
when they arrived at Fort Benton.
The following summer Myers started
out from Fort Benton enroute to
Smith river to see how the drive was
getting along He made the trip to
Great Falls with Paris Gibson, who
had pitched tent on the river bank
about where the municipal swimming
pool is now located.
Gibson talked of the need for lum-
Der and urged Myers to stop his logs
at the mouth of Smith river and bring
them on down to Great Falls later
Myers, fully expecting to see his logs
floating down the river at any mo-
ment, made no promises. He went on
the next day to the mouth of Smith
river and found no logs. Four miles
upstream he found the drive jammed
Myers Immediately made arrange
ments to construct a boom across the
mouth Of the river and the last chains
and ropes were placed as the jam
broke. The logs piled up in the mouth
Of the river for a distance of three
miles but the boom held and Myers
was able to go back the next day and
report 20 Gibson that the timber was
available.
Walls Mill Moved
With plenty of logs on hand, Myers
realized he had no sawmill Gibson
recalled there was a small one operat-
ing at Highwood. Myers went to the
plant, operated by Thomas Wall.
Walls mill had capacity Of only
about 5000 feet day. Myers already
had plans for bringing in a larger
mill but he needed lumber at once so
. deal was made whereby Wall would
move his mill to Great Falls. The mill
was in operation on Aug. 8, 1884, less
than a month after Myers made his
original deal with Gibson.
A. M. Hotter of Helena that same
year was operating a portable mill up
the Missouri river, rafting the cut
boards and dimension stuff down the
river to yard on the west side.
Charles Wegner was Holter's superin-
tendent.
With a mill on the site Myers was
able to undersen Hotter and the fol-
lowing spring shipped in mill with
. capacity of $500 feet daily.
The equipment was freighted over
land from Helena to Great Falls, ar
irving on the west side Of the river.
The ice was Just beginning to break
up and for time it was feared it
would be impossible to get all Of the
machinery across the river. The ice
bent and buckled as the heavy boiler
was skidded across That night the
ice went out.
Myers ran the mill for eight years
and then dismantled it. Shortly before
he sold out another firm started a
sawmill here but it went bankrupt.
The railroad had arrived In the mean
time and the need for a mill was past
Ru3If Fret uousa
Myers recalled that the first house
Of any consequence in Great Falls was
erected Jointly by Thomas Wall and
Q man named Peck late in 1884 It
was located about where the Charters
store now stands.
Wan, born in Ireland Of Scottish
parents, spent more than 30 years in
the west He had mining interests in
Butte for time but numbering was
his first love- In addition to operating
his own mill at Highwood. and acting
- superintendent for the Myers mill
IN Great Falls, he was president Of a
lumber firm at Barker.