Britain's rapid and far-reaching demand for lumber (its previous suppliers were banned by Napoleon's Berlin Decree) was the main cause for Canada's lumber industry to suddenly sky-rocket. With the great demand for lumber and the coming of the railway; the lumber industry in Midland/Penetang began.
From the Ottawa Valley, to Windsor, dense forests covered the land. These trees helped to stake our areas biggest and most thriving industry; lumber. The first lumber mill in Penetang was built by Jacob Gill at the mouth of Copeland's Creek in 1829. A second mill was built by D.J. Mitchell in 1869, the mill flourished, shipping millions of feet of lumber yearly. H.H. Cook opened up the first mill in Midland named "The British Canadian Lumber Co." which was later purc
hased by James Playfair. Even after him it continued to change hands and prosper. The major mills of this area were: The Playfair, Chew Bros., Beck of Penetang and The Georgian Bay Lumber Co. of Waubaushene.
The wood that was cut was put to good use, it was the main building material of the day. Lumbering operations helped the development of our area and our country; socially and economically. The lumbermen provided jobs, bought goods and paid fees and taxes into the governments treasuries. Midland's harbour and shoreline became a "beehive of mills, smoke stacks; sawdust burners, log booms and lumber piles."(A peek into the Past 100 Years). Also, Britain's demand for squared white pine lumber was v ery high during this time (used for masts on schooners), therefore Midland had an important shipping industry, which shipped lumber to Britain, and later (in huge amounts) to big American cities.
Did You Know
after the huge fire in Chicago, that totally decimated the city, Midland was a huge supplier of wood products that helped rebuild the city.
The lumber market had its ups and downs thoughout the 20th century. It had its biggest boom between 1900 and 1914. During this time Midland and surrounding area was increasingly growing in number of mills, population, shipping enterprises and in stores
and buildings.
Some people made fortunes in the lumber
industry and this money trickled down to everyone. People worked hard and were proud of their town and what it offered. The town was busselling and the residence were happy. The saw mills and lumbering operations opened up many other industries such as: The Georgian Bay Shook Mills and The Midland Planing Mills Ltd. The Midland Planing Mills opened in 1913 and manufactured boxes for shells for the first world war. The business flourished during the demand for finer wood, such as: mahogany, walnut and precious hardwoods. The mill employed a staff of over 150 men who made cabinets, baseboards and more, much of which was used in the construction of fine homes, The Martyrs' Shrine, t
he Y.M.C.A and the Library. The business is still in operation today, under the title "Midland Buildall".
Did You Know
the first electric lights in Ontario were used by the British Canadian Mill,in Midland, in 1881.
Then, in the 1920's, many of the mills closed down and the lumber industry screeched to a halt. Local lumber companies were running out of trees, so they started bringing logs down all the way from Lake Nipissing. After all the wood was gone, so were the mills. The mills depended on the forest (which was suddenly gone) and the lumberjacks and towns depended on the mills. This dependence produced a chain reaction which in itself created the economic bust. With the disappearance of the area's biggest industry, the wealth and well-being of the towns also disappeared.
Fire was a constant threat to the mill owner and on more than one occasion extensive loss was suffered (total destruction) because of it. The Playfair Mill of Midland burned down in 1915, it was not replaced, the logging era was ending.
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