HARDWOOD RECORD 



Grand Rapid s\ Lumbermen as Hosts, 



EDWAUl) IJlCKLEr, MANISTEE, MICH 



Grand Bapids, jMiehigan, represents the 

 largest and most diversified lumber interests 

 of any lity of its size in the I'nited States; 

 furthermore, its fonsuniptiou of hardwood 

 himber per capita is greater than that of any 

 other city, Tlie city has a population of 

 perhaps i:->0.000 people, and contains well 

 toward a hundred manufacturing institutions, 

 the majority of which are devoted to the pro- 

 duction of furniture of all types and grades, 

 although largely of medium to high cpiality. 

 A score ipr more of these factories are of 

 immensi- size, employing hundreds of skilled 

 laborers: othere are i)lant,s emi)loying from 

 •lO to 1.5(1 mechanics, and interspersed with 

 these are smaller plants, making some spe- 

 cialty of wood. Grand Rapids is one of the 

 most attnictive cities in the United States, 

 and is essentially a municipality of comfort- 

 able homes. In this resped it is remarkable, 



EAKL I'ALMEU, rADUCAII. KY. 



as the majority of laborers own their own 

 places of residence. 



In hardwood lumber consuniptiim Grand 

 Rapids ranks high, using upwards of 100,- 

 000,000 feet annually. This is a very con- 

 servative estimate; by many it is alleged that 

 the factories of that city utilize approxi- 

 mately 1.50,000,000 feet. Accurate statistics 

 are no* obtainable, save that it is known that 

 the railroads centering at Grand Rapids han- 

 dle a daily average of about .SOO cars of 

 lumber. Quite a jiortiou of this (juantity, 

 liowever, goes into the building trades, and 

 a considerable amount is shipped to Muske- 

 gon, Grand I.eilge and other surrounding 

 towns which ,-ir(> also largely engaged in fur- 

 niture manufacture. 



A quarter of a century ago (Iraiid Rapids 

 was the linancial and manufacturing center 

 for large white pine interests. Down the 



liUSSE, MEMPHIS, TENX. 



Grand river and from its tributaries has 

 floated many million feet of as fine white 

 pine timber as ever grew. This product is 

 now exhausted, and with succeeding years 

 the fine hardwood forests of oak, walnut, 

 basswood, cherry, elm and maple contiguous 

 to this great manufacturing center have also 

 well nigh disappeared, although even during 

 the last winter one could see hauled through 

 the streets of Grand Rapids many sleigh and 

 wagon loads of splendid hardwood timber 

 garnered from the wood lots of farmers liv- 

 ing within a dozen miles of Grand Rapids, 

 which from its character indicates the mag- 

 nificent quality of the primitive hardwood 

 forests of that section. 'I'lic original forests 

 of hard and soft woods, the splendid 

 water power afforded by the Grand river, and 

 tile fine railroad facilities enjoyed by the city 

 at even an earlv date, all contributed to the 



II I'. IIIMI'lllti:V. AI'I'I.ETIJ.V. WIS. CAltliril.I. f S\Vi:i. T, (MtANI l It.U'l DS. MICH. C. i:. l.I.dVU. .11!. 1 'I I 1 1 .M Ml. CHI A, PA. 



