Susquehanna Boom facts for kids
The Susquehanna Boom was a clever system of wooden barriers and chained logs built in the West Branch Susquehanna River. Its main job was to catch and hold floating timber logs. These logs were then sent to nearly 60 sawmills located along the river. These mills were between Lycoming and Loyalsock Creeks in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. James H. Perkins oversaw the building of the Susquehanna Boom. It operated from 1851 until 1909, when it closed because there were no more trees to cut.
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How the Susquehanna Boom Worked
A "boom" is like a floating fence made of logs. It helps to catch other logs or stop things from passing. The Susquehanna Boom stretched for seven miles (11 km) upstream. It went from Duboistown to the village of Linden. There was a small gap for a ferry to cross the river. Sometimes, the boom was made even longer towards Jersey Shore. This depended on how much lumber was needed.
The boom was built using 352 man-made islands called "cribs." These cribs were made from local stones and sunken timber. They were placed diagonally across the river. They started on the south side near Duboistown and ended on the north side near Linden. Each crib was about 22 feet (6.7 m) high.
At the upper end, a special device called a "sheer boom" opened and closed the main boom. This sheer boom was 1,000 feet (300 m) long. A hand-powered windlass controlled it. The sheer boom guided logs into the main boom. The main boom could hold a huge amount of logs. It could hold up to 300 million board feet (700 million m³) of timber.
Logs were sorted at the lower end of the boom. Mills in Williamsport, South Williamsport, and Duboistown each had their own special mark. This mark was burned or cut into the logs. Workers at the boom's end would sort the logs by their marks. They floated them into the correct holding ponds along the riverbank.
During the busiest time for lumber, from 1861 to 1891, the mills produced 5.5 billion board feet (13 million m³) of lumber. Williamsport became a very rich city in Pennsylvania and the United States. People like James H. Perkins, Peter Herdic, and Mahlon Fisher became millionaires. However, many workers who did the hard and dangerous jobs earned much less.
How It All Started
The first European settlers came to what is now Lycoming County after 1768. The Province of Pennsylvania bought the land from the Iroquois people. Before the American Revolution, small sawmills were built along the West Branch Susquehanna River. These mills made enough lumber for houses and barns in Williamsport. Even more timber was made into rafts. These rafts floated down the Susquehanna River to Chesapeake Bay and then to Baltimore. There, the big, straight timbers became masts for famous ships.
In the 1830s, lumber booms were common in Maine. John Leighton, who had worked in Maine sawmills, visited Williamsport in 1836. He thought a large boom would work well on the West Branch Susquehanna River. The river near Williamsport was wide, deep, and calm. This area was known as the "Long Reach." It was perfect for building the Susquehanna Boom.
Two important things happened that made the boom and sawmills possible. First, better transportation arrived. The Pennsylvania Canal reached Williamsport in 1834. The first railroad opened in 1839. These allowed finished wood products to be sent to markets all year. Before, logs could only float downriver during spring floods. Second, steam engines became popular for powering sawmills. This meant large mills could operate without needing water power.
James H. Perkins arrived in December 1845. He was from New Hampshire. His arrival started the economic boom that made Williamsport a major lumber city. Perkins believed Williamsport could be a big center for lumber. The area had many old-growth forests. These forests were full of hemlock, white pine, and other hardwood trees.
The Susquehanna Boom Company was officially started on March 26, 1846. It began with 100 shares of stock, each costing $100. Key shareholders included John Dubois (who founded Duboistown), his brother Matthias DuBois, James Perkins, and others. John DuBois was the first President of the Boom.
Construction of the boom began in 1849. Flooding often slowed down the work. The boom was finally finished in 1851. When full, the 450 acres (1.8 km²) of enclosed river could hold almost one million logs.
Daily Life at the Boom
The Susquehanna Boom was built in a river bend. This bend helped guide logs to the south side of the river. It worked like a giant corral for logs. Running the boom needed a lot of workers. About 150 men and boys sorted millions of logs. Boys as young as 12 worked among the cribs. They had to find one of over 1,700 different marks on the logs. Then, they sent the logs to the correct sawmill. Sorting logs was often the first job a boy could get at the boom.
These young workers were called "Boom Rats." They walked on long planks called "stretchers" that connected the 352 cribs. They used long hooks to gather logs. Then, they tied the logs into rafts. This job needed strength and quickness.
Every winter, before the river froze, the boom had to be taken out of the water. A tugboat helped lift the boom. It was stored safely on the riverbanks. Each spring, before the logs started floating downriver, the boom had to be put back in place.
The boom operated for eight months each year. The 150 employees were paid $1.50 per day. This meant the owners paid about $50,000 a year to their workers. On average, each man earned about $333.33 per year. This low pay, compared to the millions earned by the boom and mill owners, caused bad feelings among the workers. In 1872, the boom workers, lumberjacks, and sawmill workers went on strike.
The Sawdust War
The strike started on July 1, 1872. It ended with a riot known as the "Sawdust War" on July 20. Nearly 3,000 men felt they were not getting a fair share of the profits. The previous summer, over $5 million worth of lumber had been processed. Men like Peter Herdic, James Perkins, and Mahlon Fisher had become millionaires. Meanwhile, the workers struggled to feed their families with their low wages from dangerous jobs.
Also, workers were forced to work twelve-hour days. This was even though the Pennsylvania General Assembly had recently passed a law for ten-hour workdays. But the state government had no way to make the new law happen. So, the mill and boom owners ignored it. The lumbermen's leaders decided a strike was the only way to get the hours and pay they deserved. Their motto was, "Ten hours or no sawdust."
On the morning of July 1, 1872, strike leaders met at the Lycoming County Courthouse. They marched to each sawmill. They gathered mill workers or shut down the machinery. This first day was mostly peaceful.
However, the strike leaders worried that workers might go back to work without getting their demands. Many mill workers were also worried about feeding their families if they didn't earn wages. So, on July 22, the leaders gathered again. They went to the mills once more. This time, police were there to stop them from closing the mills. The strikers tried to push past the police. They threw stones at the police and the mill. The riot began. Many strikers armed themselves with clubs and revolvers. They chased away mill workers and tried to chase away the police.
The Pennsylvania Militia was called in to protect the sawmill owners. The strikers then left the area. Twenty-seven men were arrested for their part in the riot. On September 14, 1872, 21 of them were found guilty. However, 21 days later, Pennsylvania Governor John W. Geary pardoned all of them. This was a political favor to Peter Herdic, one of the boom owners.
The End of the Boom
The Susquehanna Boom stopped making money for three main reasons. First, there were regular floods. These floods swept down the West Branch Valley after winter snow melted and spring rains fell. A big flood in 1894 badly damaged the valley. Many sawmills along the river were destroyed. The boom was washed away, and nearly two million board feet (5,000 m³) of freshly cut timber floated down the Susquehanna River.
Second, new railroads were built in North Central Pennsylvania. These railroads could move fresh timber faster. They were also less risky, expensive, and dangerous than floating logs down the river.
Third, people did not think about the future when they cut down the huge old-growth forests in the 1800s. The mountains were clear cut, meaning all trees were removed. The tops of the cut trees were left to dry. Passing steam trains would spread burning embers along the tracks. These embers often started terrible fires. These fires stopped new forests from growing back. Without trees, the sawmills could no longer process timber. The mills closed, and eventually, the boom itself had to close in 1908.
