Logging Practices in 1894
At one time this small town was nothing but forest. However, by 1894 Hinckley's population would grow to over 1,700 people, drawn to the area by jobs working for large logging companies.
Hinckley was a land of money for loggers. The great white pine grew in great numbers here. The supply was thought to be endless and by 1894 Minnesota had become the country's largest source of this prized resource.
Loggers clear-cut the land around Hinckley leaving behind cut up tree limbs, trunks, and stumps, also known as slashings. They were not required to clear away this debris or replant what they had cut. The result was a land stripped of valuable timber that was filled with tinder-dry fuel for fires.
Loggers clear-cut the land around Hinckley leaving behind cut up tree limbs, trunks, and stumps, also known as slashings. They were not required to clear away this debris or replant what they had cut. The result was a land stripped of valuable timber that was filled with tinder-dry fuel for fires.
Not many people were concerned about the practice of clear-cutting and leaving behind slashings as it was thought that most of these areas would become farmland. Most people felt these practices were none of their business. However, there was one man that did not agree.
Brigadier General Christopher C. Andrews was made minister to Sweden and Norway in 1869. While there, he became familiar with their forestry practices. The many checkerboard forests, with trees in different stages of growth, impressed him the most. He returned to Minnesota 8 years later a vocal conservationist.
Andrews believed that lumber companies would soon use up the state's timber resources. He was also aware of the fire danger from leaving millions of feet of dry slashings in the woods. Andrews said, "Many people think that forest conservation means leaving trees standing. This is a mistake. Timber should be cut when it is ripe, or ceased to earn good interest by its growth. Much of the present pine forest in the northwest has been growing for one to three hundred years. It should be cut as fast as there is a market for it. When pine is cut, all seedlings should be protected so that they may reach their full growth." |
In an effort to promote his beliefs he submitted several papers to the American Forestry Association. On August 22, 1894 one of them was read at an association meeting. It talked about the need to create a system of fire wardens. It went unnoticed.