320 



CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES. 



the company has handled the bulk of the timber which has gone 

 out. Probably not less than 30 million cubes of poplar, oak, 

 hemlock, ash, cucumber, chestnut, and a small quantity of black 

 walnut and basswood have been rafted to Cincinnati from 

 Wyoming county and sawed by this company on its 3 band 

 mills located in that city. Other smaller operators were S. H. 

 Nigh who floated small black walnut logs to Catlettsburg, Ken- 

 tucky, in 1900, Jefferson Gill who floated poplar and ash to be 

 manufactured by the Freedman Lumber Company at New 

 Richmond, Ohio, and Newman and Spanner who have floated 

 poplar, ash and cucumber to Ironton, Ohio. 



Saw Mills. 



Large quantites of timber have been taken out by saw mill 

 companies. R. E. Wood Lumber Company, 1898-1906, sawed at 

 Hanover on Little Huff creek, taking the timber from about 

 5,000 acres. The lumber from this mill was hauled across the 

 mountains to the Norfolk and Western railroad, Crosby and 

 Beckley Lumber Company, 1898-1902, operated 2 mills, one on 

 Indian creek, another on Pinnacle creek, cutting the timber 

 from about 5,000 acres. E, H. Suddeth Lumber Company, in 

 operation since 1902, has cut over 4,000 acres. Keys-Fannin 

 Lumber Company, at Herndon on the Virginian railroad, has 

 operated a band mill since 1904. The W. M. Ritter Lumber 

 Company, with a band mill at Maben on the Virginian railroad, 

 is cutting timber from a large virgin tract lying in Wyoming 

 and Raleigh counties, A number of small mills, also, have been 

 sawing for the past few years at various points. The black 

 walnut was taken out of the county, principally, on wagons to 

 the Norfolk and Western railroad from 1895 to 1900. There 

 are now in operation in the county 2 band mills and 19 circular 

 mills. These have a combined capacity of about 45 million feet 

 annually. If we estimate the present stand of timber at 800 

 million feet, the mills that are now in the county, if kept run- 

 ning at the present rate, will cut every foot of it in 18 years. 



The probabilities are, however, that at least some mer- 

 chantable timber will be standing in the county 18 years hence. 

 Within 10 years the virgin areas will be cut over. Then the 



