310 



CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES. 



fence rails, boards for roofing, flooring, etc., or more often rolled 

 together and burned. What sawing was done was by hand or 

 by water saw mills of a primitive type. After this floating 

 began. The bulk of the timber has been floated down Fishing 

 creek. 



"Portable steam saw mills have been in operation since the 

 Civil War, and a few before that time. About 5,000 acres were 

 cut over on Doolin run, just east of New Mardnsville, by Cas- 

 well & Neuzem between 1860 and 1868. They hauled their fine 

 poplar and oak to New Martinsville and shipped it in barges. 

 The excellent poplar once growing on Buffalo and on Nettle 

 run was sawed by small mills, hauled to the mouth of Buffalo 

 and from there rafted down Fishing creek. 



' ' There were no large mills on Fish creek, but several small 

 mills cut lumber which was hauled to Littleton and shipped. A 

 great deal of lumber was cut on the North Fork of Fishing 

 creek by local mills and hauled in wagons to Mannington, Marion 

 county, and shipped on the B. & 0. railroad. The best of the 

 timber on several thousand acres on Arches Fork, Morgan run, 

 Tenmile, and other branches of the main South Fork of Fishing 

 creek, was also cut by local mills and hauled to Mannington. 

 The timber on 1,600 acres lying on Upper run was sawed by D. 

 H. Colx, of New Martinsville, and by a Pittsburg operator. 



''Much stave timber was cut along the Ohio river and the 

 smaller streams and taken in barges to Pittsburg. About the 

 year 1870 the Pittsburg Stave Company built a factory at New 

 Martinsville. There they operated for 5 or 6 years, shipping 

 rough and dressed staves to Pittsburg, and using some for the 

 manufacture of barrels in their own plant. A barge would 

 carry 60,000 rough staves or 100,000 that were dressed." 



Mr. Eobinson, from whom the above quotations are given, 

 was himself an extensive shipper of staves. Many of his staves 

 were shipped to the Phoenix Brewery of Pittsburg, to Gibson's 

 distillery on the Monongahela, and to the Freeport distillery 

 on the Allegheny river, 28 miles above Pittsburg. He also^man- 

 ufactured and hauled a large number of poplar shingles. In 

 the process of manufacture trees were cut into blocks 4^^ feet 

 in length, and floated down the creeks to New Martinsville. 

 Here the bolts'' were sawed in two, steamed, and cut into 



