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was harnessed at
Ronceverte with dams, cribs, booms, pockets and equipment to receive and store the endless millions of logs cut from the mountains of upper Greenbrier and Pocahontas sections and floated down to feed the ravenous and unending whirling buzzing saws. They had a capacity of 110,000
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White pine was an extremely useful wood. It was light, versatile, and capable of supplying many different needs in paper, furniture, and household materials. An enterprising logger could purchase a stand of promising forest, erect his own mill, cut and process the logs and float them down the
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Springtime floods were vital in order to float down this large amount of timber, and high water meant industry rather than inconvenience to the citizens of
Ronceverte. However, the initial calculations that the forests would 'last forever' ended with the incoming superiority of the
51:. At this point in history, loggers calculated that these massive forests would have time to replenish themselves by the time they cut from one side of the wilderness to the other.
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Colonel Ellery
Campbell Best, who is listed in the "Prominent Men of West Virginia," joined the Company in 1882 and rose to Vice President. He later became president of the
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148:, how everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the logs float down the Greenbrier River for the last time. They knew it was the end of an era. In 1911, the
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129:. The trains could haul the trees out of the forests much faster than the river could float them down. The days of the rivermen were at an end.
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mill in the country. Over time, much of the
Greenbrier River was harnessed for this form of heavy water-traffic. The river was sculpted with
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The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber
Company is one of the "central backdrops" to the plot of Pocahontas County author
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that were tough and quick. A single error could spell disaster, and the work could be very dangerous.
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and soon erected "The Big Mill" out of the choicest timbers. From this beginning emerged the largest
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In 24 years the company sawed 433,000,000 board feet (1,020,000 m) of white pine.
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was passed, ensuring the protection of large portions of land from logging in the
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book, "Riders of the Flood." Every
September the town of Ronceverte holds an
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Colonel Clay recognized the natural resources in the large stands of virgin
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of Riders of the Flood just belowstream the location of the mill company.
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worked with giant log arks 100 feet (30 m) long and special logging
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156:. This Forest remains a large supply of clean drinking water for many
24:. It was founded in 1802 by a Colonel Cecil C. Clay, a former US Army
231:"Pocahontas County, West Virginia - Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RR"
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Extensive river maps of the lower
Greenbrier River (from the town of
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220:--1770-1920. McClain Printing Company Parson, WV 1964 P. 10
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of 1908, the
Greenbrier River witnessed its last log run.
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The St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber
Company brought the first
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counties. As BJ Gudmundsson of
Patchwork Films reported:
182:) and the upstream logging traces were published by the
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Atkinson, George Wesley and Gibbens, Alvaro Franklin.
218:"Tumult on the Mountains: Lumbering in West Virginia
47:, which today involves enormous portions of the
140:editor Cal Price explained in an interview by
251:Pub. W. L. Callum, Wheeling, WV, 1890, p. 779
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18:St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company
82:, spills, holding areas for the timbers,
184:Virginia Canals & Navigation Society
125:. Tracklines were created, such as the
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127:Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
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55:river. Sawmill towns mushroomed in
86:to control the speed of the flow,
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259:Riders of the Flood Outdoor Drama
336:Pocahontas County, West Virginia
331:Greenbrier County, West Virginia
284:Ancient Free and Accepted Masons
195:Ancient Free and Accepted Masons
264:The Monongahela National Forest
144:film maker, BJ Gudmundsson for
249:Prominent men of West Virginia
20:was a lumber company based in
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346:Summers County, West Virginia
341:Monroe County, West Virginia
351:Monongahela National Forest
154:Monongahela National Forest
49:Monongahela National Forest
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269:Ronceverte, West Virginia
22:Ronceverte, West Virginia
191:Rush River Coal Company
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59:and especially in its
307:37.74667°N 80.46250°W
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312:37.74667; -80.46250
303: /
274:The Batteau Society
134:Saint Patrick's Day
104:board feet per day.
216:Clarkson, Roy B.
61:Eastern Panhandle
45:Pocahontas County
26:Brigadier-General
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233:. Archived from
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165:W. E. Blackhurst
138:Pocahontas Times
101:Greenbrier River
72:Greenbrier River
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146:Patchwork Films
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356:Log transport
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169:outdoor drama
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57:West Virginia
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235:the original
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30:Philadelphia
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310: /
111:Lumberjacks
325:Categories
298:80°27′45″W
295:37°44′48″N
205:References
199:Ronceverte
158:watersheds
92:Greenbrier
41:red spruce
37:white pine
150:Weeks Act
70:down the
68:log drive
176:Caldwell
123:railroad
76:softwood
180:Hinton
115:bateau
88:cribs
84:eyots
28:from
99:The
80:dams
39:and
16:The
197:in
178:to
132:On
43:in
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