Tall Trees and Big Business

Before the 1880s, logging was a relatively small-scale endeavor in Haywood County, offering farmers only off-season work for extra income. That all changed with the coming of the railroad. From then on out, the county’s natural resources had the attention of wealthy industrialists and timber barons from around the world.

The capital requirements for large scale timber removal were enormous. Land had to be secured, rail lines laid down, flumes built, and specialized steam-powered equipment moved into place. Even the wealthiest local residents could not compete with outsiders who rapidly gained control of much of the region’s timberlands.

While the profits largely flowed to outsiders, locals did most of the heavy lifting. Logging created a vast array of jobs requiring the skills of sawyers, blacksmiths, teamsters, cooks, and road monkeys all needed to maintain skid roads. Haywood’s timber boom would only last until the late 1920s, but its impact on the landscape and economy resonates still.

Photographs courtesy of Canton Historical Museum, The Haywood County Library Digital Collection