The White Pine Industry in Minnesota A History Agnes M. Larson Foreword by Bradley J. Gills Table of Contents		$17.95 paper ISBN: 978-0-8166-5149-8 ISBN-10: 0-8166-5149-3
The long-awaited return of this authoritative and influential history. The old-growth forests of Minnesota, at one time covering 70 percent of the state, played a major role in the development of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Telling the complete history of the white pine industry, Agnes M. Larson brings us back to a time when Minnesota’s lumber business was thriving. Larson recounts the development of the region with a wealth of information, including the building of the railroads and bustling mill towns; the daily lives of lumberjacks, loggers, river-drivers, and jam-breakers; and the final devastation of the forests. “From the first logging operation to the closing of the last mill. This book is so thorough, so comprehensive, so well organized, and so useful that it must take its place with the outstanding monographs of economic and western history.” —Journal of Economic History “An excellent contribution to the regional history and historical geography of the Upper Great Lakes area and the upper Mississippi Valley.” —Geographical Review “Larson still continues to give what may be the best historical overview to the timber industry that did so much to shape Minnesota's history.” —Winona Daily News “The White Pine Industry in Minnesota, originally published in 1949, remains an essential source for scholars and others interested in the lumber industry.” —Minnesota History Agnes M. Larson (1892–1967) was professor of history at St. Olaf College. Bradley J. Gills is visiting assistant professor of history at Grand Valley State University. 448 pages | 36 b&w photos | 6 x 9 | 2007 Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations Foreword by Bradley J. Gills Preface County Map of Minnesota I. Minnesota’s Forest Treasure II. The Lumber Industry Comes to the Upper Mississippi Valley III. The Home Market Stimulates the Mills at St. Anthony and Winona, 1850–1870 IV. The Pinelands of the St. Croix Delta Become the Property of Lumbermen V. Logging in the St. Croix Forests VI. Rafting and Selling Downriver VII. Railroads Broaden the Market for the White Pine of the Upper Mississippi, 1870–1890 VIII. Lumber and Logs on the Mississippi after 1870 IX. Growth of Sawmills in Minnesota, 1870–1890 X. Logging and Driving, 1870–1890 XI. Life in the Woods XII. The Downriver Sawmills Are Stilled XIII. The Lumber Industry in Minneapolis Reaches Its Height, 1890–1905 XIV. The Duluth District Sends Its White Pine Eastward XV. The Pinelands of Northern Minnesota Become Private Property XVI. The Operation of National Land Laws in the Pineland Area XVII. The Operation of State Laws in the Pineland Area XVIII. The New Age in Logging and Sawing XIX. Marketing and Prices, Especially after 1890 XX. The White Pine in the Building of the State Index