Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve has one of the few sawmills still operating in Haliburton County, Ont., but at the turn of the 20th century it would have been one of dozens of similar operations. The mill produces about 20,000 board feet of lumber per day – mostly made up of hardwood that is used in furniture and pallets.
A recent article in the Haliburton Echo compares logging in the region today with its heyday. In many ways, Haliburton is a county built on the logging industry. Logging provided settlers with work and money and created a need for all the different small businesses that a working-class require, the article notes.
Back in the late 19th century, loggers cleared the area of white pine, which was in high demand at the time. Malcolm Cockwell, Haliburton Forest’s managing director, estimates that the softwood would have accounted for about 80 per cent of what they harvested in those days, compared to less than one per cent today.
Read the full story here.