By the 1850s, Portland had about 800 residents, its own newspaper and a mill. The city was growing steadily, and the lush forests brought many new residents to work in the timber industry. At the turn of the century, jobs in Portland included cutting timber and producing lumber, fishing and farming. Through the timber industry, the city grew quickly, and these are some of the views of Portland in the early 1930s and 1940s that defined the city at the time.
- The Willamette River played into the industry perfectly, as a formidable way to transport the cut timber.
Arthur Rothstein / Yale.edu
- Rafts of logs were simply pulled down the river to their final destination.
Russell Lee / Yale.edu
- The need for timber was high around the country, and much of the supply was sent to San Francisco and the rest of the world via ship.
Russell Lee / Yale.edu
- Timber was stored in massive yards along the river.
Russell Lee / Yale.edu
- The transport of timber, as well as other agriculture products, helped propel the development of Portland, as better roads were needed to ship goods easily.
OSU Special Collections & Archives / Flickr.com
- At the time, ships were most commonly used in the timber trade, and seeing them along the river loading timber was a common sight.
Russell Lee / Yale.edu
- From here, the timber was shipped across the country and world, including to China, Hawaii and Australia.
Arthur Rothstein / Yale.edu
By the 1940s, Oregon began requiring reforestation after logging and the shipbuilding industry was in full swing. Through the 1960s and 1970s, government organizations began to limit the logging on federal land, and since, the industry has been battling a slow decline. Today, just 10 percent of old growth forest remain uncut, and almost all of that land is on federal property.
Arthur Rothstein / Yale.edu
Russell Lee / Yale.edu
OSU Special Collections & Archives / Flickr.com
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