MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



PASSING OF BIG 



MUSKEGON INDUSTRY 



\Yhen the Thayer mills at Muskegon shut down 

 this week it marked the passing of one of the 

 biggest concerns that ever cut lumber from rough 

 logs on the shores of Muskegon lake and also 

 the biggest dividend paying institution that was 

 ever operated in Muskegon. 



The Thayer Lumber Company has been oper- 

 ating in Muskegon continuously since 1878, with 

 the exception of seven weeks during the big 

 strike of 1882, and previous to that mill No. 1, 

 known as the "little mill," the mill farthest west 

 of the two, had been operated since 1860, and 

 mill Xo. 2. called the "big mill," had cut lumber 

 since its completion in June, 1865. 



A survey of the history of the operations at 

 the two mills of the Thayer Company leaves no 

 question that all other Muskegon mills are left 

 far in the rear as regards the extent of lumber 

 production is concerned. The Thayer mills have 

 outlasted all the big mills, and neither of the 

 two mills that will cut lumber this summer, 

 Gow & Campbell's and Frank Alberts & Sons,' 

 can hold a candle to the Thayer mills in point 

 of production. 



A conservative estimate places the amount of 

 lumber cut at the two mills since they were built 

 at two billion feet. Since the Thayer Lumber 

 Company took over the mills the production has 

 been over 1.300,000,000 feet. This represents 

 the cutting over of an area bigger than four 

 townships. 



The fact that the Thayer company maintained 

 two large lumber yards has been of great benefit 

 to Muskegon, causing the employment of a large 

 force of men the year round that was required 

 just to run the mills. This was the idea of the 

 late Thomas Munroe. No other mill kept its 

 lumber in yards, but piled it on the docks for 

 immediate shipment by water or rail. 



But this company held the lumber for favor- 

 able prices. The pine for water shipment was 

 piled in the yard near the mill and the hemlock 

 and better grades of pine for shipment by rail 

 were kept in the east yard. 



Both mills Xos. 1 and 2 were built by the 

 late Lyman G. Mason, who located in Muskegon 

 in 1855. He sold mill No. 1 in 1864 to Bigelow 

 Bros., and in August of that year formed a part- 

 nership with Charles S. Davis and commenced 

 the erection of mill No. 2, which was completed 

 in the spring of 1865. Mason & Davis operated 

 this mill until 1878, when it was sold to the 

 Thayer Lumber Company, which at the same 

 time purchased the Bigelow Bros.' mill. 



Many of the prominent citizens who figured 

 in the early and later history of Muskegon have 

 been connected with the Thayer Lumber Com- 

 pany. William Brinen, who located in Muskegon 

 in the spring of 1865, when the mill was being 

 completed, has been with the company continu- 

 ously since its organization, as manager. He 

 first worked for Mr. Mason on the booms, and 

 has been employed in almost every capacity 

 around the mills. 



"The 'big mill' is the best built mill in the 

 country," says Mr. Brinen. ''No other mill on 

 the lake had a stone foundation sunk in the 

 lake. A big raft of 12-inch beams was built 

 on the shore of the lake behind the present 

 office of the company, water extending then up 

 very close to Western avenue. The raft was 

 floated to the site chosen for the mill and the 

 stone foundations built on it, the raft sinking as 

 the foundation grew. This was the most solid 

 foundation ever put under a mill in Muskegon. 

 "During the first year the 'big mill' was oper- 

 ated, the average daily cut was 80,000 feet with 

 a circular saw, a gang, a slabber and a siding 

 mill. The siding mill was taken out the next 

 year and another gang put in, increasing the 

 daily cut to about 150,000 feet. 



"In the old days we ran the mills about 180 

 days a year, generally running day and night. 

 During the last eleven years the working year 

 has been about 290 days, the cut being about 



the same as for the shorter period of time when 

 the mills were operated day and night." 



The late Thomas Munroe, for many years 

 superintendent and secretary-treasurer of the 

 Thayer company, came to Muskegon from Rush- 

 ville, 111., in 1870 to take the position of book- 

 keeper with L. G. Mason Co. Upon the or- 

 ganization of the Thayer Lumber Company in 

 1878 he was made general superintendent of the 

 mills and later succeeded Hugh Park in the 

 offices of secretary and treasurer. On the death 

 of Thomas Munroe, October 17, 1906, his brother, 

 William Munroe, succeeded to the offices held by 

 him in the company, and has since filled them 

 capably. 



Nathaniel Thayer. of Boston, was president 

 of the company at its organization ; but he died 

 several years ago, and his grandson, Eugene 

 V. R. Thayer, Jr., is now president. 



BELIEVES IN GOOD ROADS. 



A regular program regarding road improve- 

 ment is being carried out by Empire township, 

 Leelanau county. In 1906 the highway leading 

 out of the village toward Glen lake was im- 

 proved. The hills were graded down and the 

 roadbed turnpiked and graveled. Now this 

 road is in such a condition as to make travel 

 nver it a pleasure. Last year the road leading 

 out of Empire village in an easterly direction 

 was given attention. Some grading was done 

 and about two miles of roadway was graveled. 

 At one point a new road was laid out for 

 nearly a mile in an attempt to dodge a range 

 of hills. The highway work for this year is to 

 be on the road leading into the farming land 

 to the south of the village. It is hoped to 

 improve this road to the county line. 



The reason for this plan of improvement is 

 plain. The people of Empire village are anx- 

 ious that it shall be made easy for the farmers 

 of the surrounding territory to haul their pro- 

 duce to the village for marketing and that it 

 shall also be easy for these said farmers to get 

 to the village to buy their supplies. There 

 are at least a dozen towns in the Grand Tra- 

 verse region that could, if they so desired, fol- 

 low the example of Empire with a profit to 

 themselves. 



ROAD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY. 



A company to be known as the .Country 

 Roads Construction Company has been organ- 

 ized at Port Huron. The capitalization of the 

 company will be $25,000. This action was 

 taken because of the fact that at the last meet- 

 ing of the directors of the Port Huron Engine 

 & Thresher Company it was decided that that 

 institution would not build any more macadam 

 roads, it being outside the regular purpose of 

 the company. The new company is prepared 

 to bid on the construction of macadam, gravel 

 or roads to be laid with any other material in 

 the State of Michigan. D. C. Kinch is presi- 

 dent and F. B. Whipple secretary. 



BARRY COUNTY ROADS. 



Castleton township, Barry county, has fixed an 

 assessment of $1.50 on the thousand on the valu- 

 ation of the township at large for permanent road 

 improvements, and $1 per thousand on the valu- 

 ation oulside of the village of Nashville for a 

 repair fund. This will give a little over $2.500 

 for road work the coming year. The commis- 

 sioner was instructed to buy a road drag and 

 a new plow to use on the roads. 



MICHIGAN ROAD NOTES. 



The Springwells, W'ayne county, township boarc 

 has ordered an election for the first part of June 

 when the electors will be called upon to vote on 

 a proposition to issue $25,000 of bonds for the 

 improvement of the highways of the township 

 Part of the money may be used in conjunction 

 with the county road commission in improving 

 Michigan avenue from the present terminus oi 

 the paving to the Pere Marquette crossing. 



A petition is in circulation among Ithaca merch- 

 ants asking for the construction of a gravelec 

 road west from Ithaca. Beginning at the west 



line of Ithaca township, it is proposed to build 

 a graveled road one and three fourth miles west 

 and under the direction of the state road depart- 

 ment so as to entitle to state aid of $500. Lib- 

 eral subscriptions are being made for this purpose 

 by citizens of Ithaca, whirh will be added to the 

 sum appropriated by Newark. 



W. H. Johnston has been re-elected a member 

 of the board of road commissioners of Marquette 

 county. 



The Alger county road commissioner has 

 awarded a contract for the building of an over- 

 lead crossing bridge above the South Shore rail- 

 road east of Munising Junction, and a bridge over 

 he Slapnick river. 



Supervisor Hamar, of Chassell township, is the 

 good roads advocate of the board of supei visors 

 of Houghton county. He believes in the county 

 road system and will some of these days make 

 an effort to get it through. He says there are 

 roads in his and adjoining townships which will 

 never be properly repaired unless the county does 

 the work, as the townships cannot afford to 

 do it. 



BEAVERS STOP DRIVE. 



:he Fence river has been held up. Until Mitchell 

 Dykes, of Iron Mountain, who has charge of the 

 drive, effects a compromise with the beavers or 

 resorts to dynamite, the logs will not go down 

 stream. The beavers built a perfect dam across 

 the stream about fifteen miles from Floodwood 

 and it is a dam which holds the water, too, and 

 will not be swept away by the unusual pressure 

 of the spring freshets, for it is built solidly. 



It is constructed of sticks, stones and mud laid 

 so well that it has made an impregnable wall. 

 The drive of the company has been halted there 

 and Mr. Dykes will use dynamite to clear the 

 way. The dam was built last fall by the indus- 

 trious beavers. It is the first time as far as 

 known that a drive in that part of the country has 

 been stopped by the beavers. 



LOGGING SEASON SATISFACTORY. 



When the weather conditions are considered 

 the past winter was a very satisfactory one in 

 the lumbering industry in the upper peninsula, 

 writes a correspondent. The loggers were not 

 able to get at their work until about the middle 

 of January and they suffered losses during the 

 early part of the season because of the mildness 

 of the weather. One point in their favor, how- 

 ever, was the fact that men were plentiful. The 

 pressure of the labor market was greatly re- 

 lieved and employes adapted to work in the 

 lumber woods were much easier to obtain than 

 in other winters. When once the weather became 

 settled the operators pushed their operations and 

 regained much of the ground which was lost by 

 the poor beginning. 



J. S. Morrison, a well-known Laurium logger, 

 operated no less than eleven camps the past 

 winter. Some of these were in Keweenaw 

 county. The cut was confined very largely to 

 square timber for use at the mines. George 

 Jacka of Red Jacket operated three camps. His 

 cut also consisted chiefly of mining timber. The 

 firm of Eddy & Belheumer harvested 5,000,000 

 feet of timber. The logs will be sawed at Lake 

 Linden. B. Quello of Calumet operated two 

 camps in Keweenaw county. The product was 

 almost entirely mining timber. 



The cut of the Sparrow Kroll Lumber Com- 

 pany, the largest concern operating in Hough- 

 ton county, amounted to 15,000.000 feet. The 

 logs will be manufactured into lumber at the mills 

 at Kenton. The Diamond Lumber Company op- 

 erated a camp in Ontonagon county and got put 

 about 5,000.000 feet of timber. This is being 

 shipped to Green Bay, Wis.. where the mills are 

 located. The extension of the Chicago, Milwau- 

 kee & St. Paul from Ontonagon west will tap 

 one of the richest districts of standing timber 

 which can be found anywhere in the state of 

 Michigan. Much of the timber is owned by John 

 M. Longyear of Marquette and the Aver estate. 



