Vintage logging – Circle saw mills

Each Saturday morning I review 10 vintage logging, forestry and saw milling photos. This week’s review of vintage photos looks at the early circle saw mills of the early 20th century.

Be sure to click on each picture to see the larger images.

RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number: 475612
U-Saw Prod., Lbr., Portable Mills – Alabama. Talladega National Forest. Charlie Durham small sawmill, Salt Creek Sale. Taken by Daniel O. Todd. April 1953.

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RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number: 462797
U-Saw Prod., Lbr., Portable Mills – Alabama. Small portable sawmill, located near the junction of the Double Springs Road an the Grayson Road, sawing small shortleaf logs for lumber, a very uneconomical practice, resulting in much waste. If such logs result from thinning it would be much better to use them in pulpwood. From a sawlog point of view it would be much better to let trees grow to merchantable size. Taken by Leland J. Prater – 7-10-1950

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RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number: 439139
U-Saw Prod., Lbr., Portable Mills – California, Moving alder logs on the log deck of the Voss Alder Mill, South Fork Gualala River. Taken by H.L. Person – 8/2/41

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RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number: 398856
U-Saw Prod., Lbr., Portable Mills – California, Humphrey’s Mill in Yuba County. Taken by H.R. Josephson – 1940

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RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number:389203
Mark Twain N.F., General view of portable sawmill set-up operated by Joel Fox. This mill is now set up close by his timber sale near Crider, Missouir, and is operated by steam. Mr Fox and his crew spend a few days in the woods logging and then a few days at the mill sawing up the logs. This view shows the mill in the middle of the foreground. Some logs have just been brought in by truck and ae being unloaded at the log deck. Just behind the truck is a wagon being loaded with some lumber for the construction of a new shed on the farm of one of the local people. This latter type of sale is the regular market for the lumber produced by this mill. Rough sawn oak generally sells for about $10.00 to $15.00 per M., November 1, 1939.

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Inventor Clinton D. Jackson of Mondovi, WI, US claims improvements of the back and forth motion of the saw mill carriage by use of a simplified mechanism., patent 2305170 1941-10-06 Clinton D Jackson, An improved mechanism for imparting and controlling the back and forth movement of the feed carriage.

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Inventor Clinton D. Jackson of Mondovi, WI, US, claims improvements in portable sawmills whereby a combination of new features make the machine readily transportable. Some features include an electrically operated dogs, a carriage offset device and several safety features., patent 2377236 1941-03-07 Clinton D. Jackson portable saw mill.

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RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number: 421301., General view of the portable sawmill owned and operated by H. F. Barnes which saws lumber on contract for the Fordyce Lumber Co. The log deck is in the foreground, the saw and log carriage is at right, the slab conveyor in center background and green chain at left background. Mill cuts 8-12 M per day. Tahen by Leland J. Parter, Jun 17 1942

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RG# 95-GP Records of the Forest Service General Subject Files Negative Number: 371190, U-Saw Prod., Lbr., Portable Mills – Arkansas Ozark N.F.
Mr J.C. Sawyer at Clarksville, Arkansas, operating a small sawmill on Haw Creek at base of Hess Knob. Taken by B.W. Muir, July 1938

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