Cornell Pulpwood Stacker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cornell Pulpwood Stacker
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Cornell Pulpwood Stacker, Cornell, Wisconsin
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 Cornell Pulpwood Stacker
Location in Wisconsin
Cornell Pulpwood Stacker
Location in the United States
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| Location | Cornell Mill Yard Park Cornell, Wisconsin |
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| Built | 1912 |
| Architect | Joor Engineering Company of England (built by Minneapolis Tool and Machinery Company) |
| NRHP reference No. | 93001425 |
| Added to NRHP | December 23, 1993 |
The Cornell Pulpwood Stacker is a large machine located at Millyard Park in Cornell, Wisconsin. It was used to move pulpwood logs into huge piles. These logs were then sent down rivers to paper mills. The stacker worked at the Cornell Wood Products Mill from 1912 until 1971. At that time, newer, more efficient machines replaced it. This stacker is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also recognized by the Wisconsin State Historical Society as part of Cornell Millyard Park.
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What is the Cornell Pulpwood Stacker?
The Pulpwood Stacker is a big machine found on the east bank of the Chippewa River in Cornell, Wisconsin. It was built to make handling logs at the Cornell Wood Products Mill much faster. The Joor Engineering Company from England designed it. The Minneapolis Tool and Machinery Company built it on site in 1912.
How did the Pulpwood Stacker work?
By the late 1800s, Wisconsin became a major producer of paper and pulpwood products. The timber industry was a very important employer in the state. In the early 1900s, companies started using machines more to do the same work with fewer people.
Logs were cut at the pulpwood mill. Then, they were stacked in big piles before being sent down the river to paper mills. The stacker was 175-foot (53 m) long and shaped like a double-truss bridge. It used a 35-horsepower motor and worked at a 45-degree angle. This machine replaced a lot of hard manual labor. It moved the cut logs into large piles on land. From there, workers could put them into the water for their trip to the paper mill.
The stacker's base is 36-foot (11 m) wide. It narrows to a 10-foot (3.0 m) tip, making it look like a long pyramid. It moved logs using a system of wires and metal conveyors. The logs then came out through a chute. There is a walkway along one side for maintenance workers. This allowed them to climb up and down to fix the equipment. The stacker became outdated in 1971. Newer, more cost-effective ways of moving logs took its place. A fire about 20 years later destroyed most of the buildings around the stacker.
Millyard Park and Historic Recognition
The city of Cornell now owns both the stacker and the land it sits on. They created Millyard Park to remember this important part of the city's history. By 1991, the stacker was in poor condition. The city started raising money, hoping to collect $50,000 for repairs.
Why is the Stacker a Historic Landmark?
On October 10, 1991, the Cornell City Council applied to the Wisconsin State Historical Society. They also applied to the National Register of Historic Places. They hoped to get special funding for repairs. The Wisconsin State Historical Society added Cornell Millyard Park to the state's list of historic properties on July 9, 1993. The stacker itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1993.
When the National Park Service studied the stacker for historic status, they believed it "is possibly the only remaining structure of its kind." This means it might be the last one left!
Efforts to Preserve the Stacker
A special fund called "Save the Stacker" was set up in Cornell. As of 2009, it was estimated that it would cost at least $350,000 to clean off the rust and fix the old equipment. This job would require workers to climb up the 175-foot (53 m) stacker at its 45-degree angle. In 2016, the city approved $23,000 from a special fund for needed repairs. The city's long-term goal is to raise $500,000 in the next 20 years for a complete renovation.
