For hundreds of years, the forests of Northern Ontario had been virtually untouched by the people who lived in them. For the Natives, the forest provided a source of shelter and fuel, as it did later for the voyageurs, whose main focus was on securing furs. Neither group looked at the forests as did the loggers, for it was only in the mid 1800's that interest in the forest itself began to develop.

Because the supplies of wood in Michigan were beginning to diminish, Michigan companies began looking for new sources in the North Channel. In Northern Ontario there was an abundance of white pine - the lumber of choice because of its strength and versatility - as well as many prime waterways for transporting the logs.

Logging companies located in Ontario were not only influenced by Michigan companies but by the provincial government. The government was very concerned with opening up new farming areas in the North, and decided that the logging companies would be useful in clearing land for the farmers to settle. The farmers in turn would provide the lumber companies with food and hay, and farmers could work as lumberjacks to supplement their farm income. Settlers purchased their land from the government, and the remaining land - Crown land - was left for the lumber companies, who had access only through government licensing.

The lumber companies would send in timber cruisers who estimated the amount of lumber in a stand of timber. The company would then apply to the government for a license to cut the timber. The license specified the size and exact location of the timber limit assigned to the operator, as well as the amount to be cut each year and the fees to be paid. The lumberjacks were then sent in.

In the beginning, American companies were simply bringing their entire logs back to American mills, rather than sawing the logs into lumber at Canadian mills. In 1878, the Americans increased the taxes on sawmill machinery exported from the United States. In retaliation, an export tax was put on Canadian saw logs shipped to the United States. The American Government then introduced the Dingly Tariff Act, which increased the tariff on lumber imported from Canada. Finally, Ontario Premier Arthur S. Hardy prohibited the export of saw logs cut on Crown land. Michigan mills were forced to close or move to Canada.

In 1875-1885, sections of the CPR were built in Northern Ontario. This increased the types of wood which were able to be used, as thicker woods such as tamarack and cedar were needed for railway ties. The railways also decreased the amount of logs transported by water. In the 1920's, the pulp and paper industry demanded even more wood. The 1930's brought the Depression, and decreased the amount of wood required. The Second World War greatly augmented the need for lumber, and German prisoners were used in the bush. The 1940's introduced the first mechanization in the bush: the gas-powered chainsaw, which replaced crosscut saws. By the 1960's, axes and hand-operated saws had disappeared from the bush. Horses were replaced by wheeled skidders. Weather roads and large trucks made the logging industry a year-round, much more efficient operation.