Sierra Nevada Logging Museum
Encyclopedia
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains region. The museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
is located on California State Route 4 in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is the principal U.S. National Forest located in the U.S. state of Nevada. With an area of , it is the largest National Forest of the United States outside of Alaska...
, near Arnold
Arnold, California
Arnold is a census-designated place in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,843 at the 2010 census, down from 4,218 at the 2000 census. Arnold is located on State Route 4.-History:...
, in Calaveras County, California
Calaveras County, California
Calaveras County is a county located in the Gold Country of the U.S. state of California. Calaveras is the Spanish word for skulls; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga. As of the 2010 census, the county had a...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Introduction
The Sierra Nevada Logging Museum tells the history of loggersLumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
and logging-related industries in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California – from the discovery of gold in 1848 and California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
to the present day. The geographic scope of the Museum encompasses the 18 counties of the Sierra Nevada range, from Lassen County
Lassen County, California
Lassen County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,895, up from 33,828 at the 2000 census...
in the North to Kern County
Kern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
in the South.
Facilities
The Sierra Nevada Logging Museum is in the heart of the Sierras, in the community of White Pines on a 7 acres (28,328 m²) site, originally occupied by the historic logging and mill workers’ camp of the Blagen Lumber Company, which operated from 1938 to 1962. The Museum is in a 2400 square feet (223 m²) building, on a forested slope above White Pines Lake (elevation 4,000 feet). It has extensive indoor exhibit space, as well as outdoor exhibits of large logging equipment and artifacts.Indoor museum
Museum exhibits highlight economic, technological, social, and cultural contributions made throughout the region by loggers and the logging industry. Interior displays include working models of sawmillSawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s and logging camps, historic logging photos, diorama
Diorama
The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...
s illustrating the evolution of logging from the 1850s to the present day, and a large collection of logging tools such as handsaws, drag saws and chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
s, peeves and canthooks, broadaxe
Broadaxe
A broadaxe is a large-headed axe. There were two types of broadaxes both used for shaping logs by hand hewing. On one type, one side is flat and the other side beveled, a basilled edge, this is a hewing broadaxe...
s and felling axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
s. Also, a full-size scene of a 1930s-era logging camp family cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
, and touch-screen displays of logging sights and sounds are highlights of the museum.
Open air museum
Interpretive trailTrail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
s guide visitors to historic artifacts: a Willamette Steam donkey
Steam donkey
Steam donkey, or donkey engine is the common nickname for a steam-powered winch, or logging engine widely used in past logging operations, though not limited to logging...
that first operated in Tuolumne County, a “two-man” sawmill, a 1920 Shay logging locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
(under restoration), several enormous logging arches, three caterpillar tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s from the 1930s, a drying-yard lumber carrier, a historic Adams horse-drawn grader
Grader
A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, a blade, a maintainer, or a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third...
used for road clearing in the woods, and many others.
Surrounding amenities
The 7 acres (28,328 m²) location is for recreational as well as educational use. An amphitheater, picnicPicnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
tables, and barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
pits in the forest and along the lakefront. From the museum, easy walking trails lead to swimming, boating and fishing at White Pines Park, and to a hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
all the way around White Pines Lake, passing the site of the old Blagen Sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and its log pond.
The Museum is operated by Friends of the Logging Museum (FLM), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and is open Thursday-Sunday, 12:00-4:00.
See also
- Sierra Nevada loggingSierra Nevada LoggingLogging in the Californian Sierra Nevada arose from the need to support growing communities in the area. The Gold Rush created a high demand for timber to build housing, for mining procedures, and especially to build railroads. In these days use was unregulated and in the first 20 years after the...
- LumberjackLumberjackA lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
- Category: Log transport
- LoggingLoggingLogging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
- ClearcuttingClearcuttingClearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
- ForesterForester250px|thumb|right|Foresters of [[Southern University of Chile|UACh]] in the [[Valdivian forest]]s of San Pablo de Tregua, ChileA forester is a person who practices forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including timber...
- ForestryForestryForestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
- Old-growth forest
- ReforestationReforestationReforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
- Clearcutting
External links
- Official Sierra Nevada Logging Museum website