Logging in the Parry Sound and Muskoka Regions
In the 1880’s and idea to settle the land was brought forward by government. Among the most vociferous critics of the idea were, predictably, the lumbermen. During the nineteenth century the timber trade was almost the only large-scale industry in the country; the only one employing hundreds of men, operating over a wide terrain, and transcending the level of the local community. Not that Canada, with its scanty population, had very much need for forest products. The demand came chiefly from Britain and the United States. In Britain the call was for square timber, which meant pine logs expertly squared by skilled axe men for use in ship building, roof rafters and the like. British importers were very choosy about their lumber. The wood had to be perfectly sound, without any trace of rot, and the trees had to be at least twenty-one inches in diameter. This timber was in great demand in the United Kingdom and the United States, where the 60’ to 80’ feet tall trees, seven feet across at their bases, were excellent materials for shipbuilding. Thus, cutting for the British market was an extremely wasteful process, as thousands of fine trees would be cut and left to rot if they weren't quite up to standard. Supplying the British market created other headaches for the lumbermen, who had to face extreme fluctuations in prices and were never paid until the timber had been cut, trimmed, floated to the railheads, hauled to seaports, loaded aboard ships, and finally delivered to the United Kingdom.
Gradually, a new market developed in the United States. By the 1850s the pine forests of Michigan, Wisconsin and even Minnesota were fast retreating before the axe, and in view of the voracious demands of Chicago and New York City for building materials, lumbermen inevitably turned their gaze toward Canada. By 1869 the Americans were buying more Canadian wood than the British, and furthermore, the Americans wanted sawn lumber, not square timber, and were prepared to accept almost anything they could get, regardless of quality. This made for more advantageous cutting and simpler operations by Canadian lumbermen, though the American market, like the British, was somewhat erratic in its demands and prices.
In Canada West (now Ontario) the lumber trade was in full swing by the 1850s, busily depleting the forests of the Kawarthas and the Lake Simcoe basin, and lumbermen began eyeing the pineries of Muskoka and Parry Sound. The region then supported immense stands of cedar, spruce, balsam, tamarack, birch, maple, hemlock and oak as well as pine. The problem was how to export the logs, since the rivers all ran west into Georgian Bay. When the assault began, it came primarily from that direction, notably from the village of Parry Sound itself, where in 1857 the firm of J. and W. Gibson and Company of Willowdale first built a sawmill. In 1863 this mill was sold to J. and W. Beatty, whose family practically owned Parry Sound for many years, and who were intimately associated with its growth. As early as 1856, licences were granted for cutting, in the Muskoka and Parry Sound Regions but were virtually untouched until after 1870, largely because neither the Moon nor the Musquash Rivers has a reasonable harbour at its mouth, and it simply was not profitable to drag logs overland from Lake Muskoka to the Severn River.
Thus the lumber industry's interest in the Muskoka and Parry Sound forests happened to coincide with the government's interest in Muskoka and Parry Sound agriculture. The lumbermen were not very happy about the colonization scheme. They wanted the pineries reserved for themselves, and complained bitterly when they found prime timber limits being ruined and turned into worthless farms. At the very least, the lumber companies tried to have zones set aside for them, but their appeals were not heeded. The government drew a lot of revenue from timber dues and regulated the industry very heavily, while continuing to favour farming, because agriculture was expected to prove permanent while lumbering was viewed as merely a passing concern. Besides, lumbermen at that time were generally credited with an attitude of "public be damned", which some of them certainly deserved, and consequently they had few friends in high places.
In several respects, the settler could be a decided nuisance to the lumberman. He might be trying to farm within the lumberman's timber limits, for which the lumberman paid hard cash for a licence, yet until 1860 the lumberman had no legal right to cut on the settler's land, whereas the settler was under no restrictions as to the cutting and selling of his own timber. Some so-called "settlers" took advantage of this to strip their lots of timber, at a profit, before moving on. Others tried to clear their lots by burning away the bush, and often started forest fires in the process. On the other hand, the settler could, on occasion, be helpful. He raised farm produce, including fodder for oxen, which the lumber camps badly needed, and as the years went by he frequently began working in the camps himself for a little extra cash. In 1860 the Canadian legislature passed an Act permitting the lumbermen to cut anywhere within their limits, whether on private property or not, while settlers were not allowed to sell timber except as a means of paying for their lots. Many a settler must have witnessed lumber crews cutting timber on his property, resentfully aware that he had no authority to make them leave. In practice both sides violated the regulations if they found it in their interests to do so.
Thus by 1865 the settler and the lumberman were both starting to invade the Muskoka and Parry Sound, with the former enjoying a temporary head start. But the pace of settlement was slow. Transport facilities were haphazard or non-existent. As late as 1865 there was still no mail, stage or boat service in the district.
Rough log cabins or shanties were built along side rivers or lakes in only a matter of days. Stables for the horses, blacksmith and carpentry shops followed. Quite often the foreman or owner would sleep in the office. No camp was complete without the cook and his able helpers. If the food wasn’t good, no one would work for you. So having a good cook was essential for the profit line.
Hendersons Mill
Dick Henderson operated a logging camp in the 1920's in Joly Township. In winter it was a long cold trek by sleigh. It was up nine hill and the steeper fourteen hill further on. The camp had two bunkhouses, a cookery, stables, a blacksmith shop and office, all of which were built at the crest of a little hill. The camp had two bunkhouses, a cookery, stables, a blacksmith shop and office which were built at the crest of a little hill. At a bend in the stream close to the camp the lumber mill was erected. Adjacent to the mill was the log dump. Bunk Houses for the men, twenty by forty feet in size where built of rough lumber and covered in tarpaper. Each had a large wood stove that heated the room and served a drier for all the wet clothes that each men had to dry every night.
Twenty men shared each house. Double bed bunks along the walls held mattresses make of hay. Each bed was given three rough grey blankets, one for the bottom and two for the top. By coal oil lamps the men spent their nights sharpening axes and their crosscut saws. The only lights were coal oil lamps, which hung from the rafters, providing very poor reading or working light.
The most important part of the camp was the cookery. It was made of rough lumber but was kept meticulously clean. Here Charlotte Henderson, and her helpers, George James and Allan Sullivan did the cooking for forty men. After making bread everyday they were faced with the task of preparing food from such staples as flour, sugar, rice and beans. In wooden boxes dried apples, raisins, apricots and prunes were stored. Everyday pies for supper were prepared. Lunches were sent with the men. After breakfast the men gathered their lunches, not to return until dark and awaited a hardy meal. Each meal was eaten upon large oilcloth covered tables. The plates were enamel and the cups of heavy ironstone. No conversation was permitted, except to ask for the tea or sugar.
Using blacksmith's coal to heat his forge, the smithy shod horses, repaired sleigh runners, harness, and fixed mill machinery. A few woodworking tools enabled him to build the heavy wooden horse-drawn snowploughs.
Teamsters hired by Dick Henderson were Tom Denham, Billy Cook, and Joe Flanigan. Joe Flanigan owned a prize team of black horses. Wes Fleming worked in the mill, a co-worker was Eddie Skuce from Powassan who was a trimmer. Roy Fleming worked in the office as clerk and timekeeper.
William Malowney owned the Joly Lumber Company located at the old Vavasour settlement area. Logging operations were carried out about a mile from the Gorge where the mill was located. Some of the people who worked for the mill in the 1920’s were Mrs. Gladys Basso (Hornibrook), Ralph Malowney and Lloyd Christie. Many of the men who had worked at the Henderson logging camp worked for Bill Malowney. Among them were Mac Christie, Frank Abar, Tom Denholm, George Boakes and Tom Jarvis.
Allan Frost's logging camp was located in Paxton Township. In later years he logged in Algonquin Park at Roseberry Lake. Devine Township. Birch and maple veneer logs were cut there which were sold to Oakwood Wood Specialties. The logs were cut on Crown land, which was leased, from the government. The contract demanded that the softwood logs be cut also.
As local resources diminished, the industry declined. However, lumbering has always been of prime importance in this area. Through removal, neglect or vandalism the important sites and buildings of early lumber camps have disappeared, which is indeed regrettable.
Kent Mill
About 1880, Samuel Kent, located Lots 16 and 17, Concession 1, Strong Township. The 1891 census shows that Samuel and Maria had four sons: John, Thomas, William (24) and James (22). They had two young daughters Margaret (6) and Maria (3). Samuel established a gristmill in Stirling Falls.
John Arthur Kent located Lot 14, Concession 1, Strong. His sons were: William John, Henry and George. William John (1864-1931) was a millman. Beginning in the early 1900’s, William John Kent of ran a logging camp that employed about 20 men. Experienced lumbermen would choose a tree to fell. After notching the tree, two men with practiced strokes would drop the tree in whatever direction they decided upon. This was an art and very few trees would not be dropped where they were intended. Horses played an important part in the lumber industry. Without good horses to lessen the work, men could not complete the necessary work to get the logs to the water. Logs where piled by means of a decking line. A jammer was used in this operation (a tripod of logs that held cables and pulleys that lifted the logs using horses a power). Steel tongs dug into the log as it as lifted by the horses. Teamster regularly competed about who could haul the heaviest loads of logs on their sleighs. One mill was located where the iron bridge in Pevensey spans the Magnetawan (Little East River). This mill was powered by a steam engine in which sawdust and chips were burned as fuel. Herb Paul was the fireman. John McArthur, a mill workman was fatally injured there. Mr. Kent was deeply concerned about the accident and ceased to operate his mill. William John was a true conservationist. His loggers were given instructions to preserve the young trees during felling operations.
Green lumber was never sold in those early days. The lumber haul to Sundridge was a tedious, unprofitable operation. A good team could draw about 1000' of softwood lumber or possibly 800' of hardwood lumber per day. When trucks were first used the roads were a problem. William John Kent bought a National Truck, which had a cogwheel drive on the back end. Its tires were of hard, solid rubber. This truck could haul several loads of lumber to Sundridge.
George Kent owned a sawmill on the Little East River, Lot 1, Joly Township. A falls in front of the Kent home provided waterpower for the mill. When there was an abundance of water the mill operation was quite successful. Otherwise, the millmen had to operate the big wheel like a treadmill to supply the power. Later, George Kent moved to a second mill in Joly Township. In this mill there was a turbine and a planer. A plate grinder was used for the grain. Eventually a hammer mill was installed there. Herman Kent, the hammer mill operator charged ten cents for grinding a bag of grain.
Walter Kent, son of William began his logging operation in Joly Township, east of Pevensey. After his death his sons, Fred, Cecil and Lewis continued the operation east of Magnetawan, here a large lumber mill and planning mill was built. These sons and their families built homes there, while loggers slept in bunkhouses and ate their meals in the cookhouse.
After the spring break up Kent Mill became on operating lumber mill. Many young men from the Pevensey area worked summers and later full time at the mill.
The sawmill and logging operations of the Kent Brothers, Cecil and Lewis, sons of Walter Kent, began in this way. The Joly Lumber Company operated by Wm. Maloney, Joseph Spears and Claude Taylor hired numerous contractors to cut, skid and haul logs in remote areas of their timber limits. George Kent, one such contractor built his camp on the Crozier Marsh near the Little East River in Concession 2, Joly. The winter of 1936 was very severe which caused problems and as Spring and the break-up approached it was obvious that the Kent logs might not be milled. The Joly Lumber Company mustered all available teamsters who hauled the logs to the Mclntosh Marsh on the Little East River below the Crozier Marsh. These hardwood logs were far from a gravel road and to prevent staining they had to be sawn before hot, summer weather set in. A sawmill had to be moved to that isolated spot. Walter Kent, an sawmill employee of the Joly Lumber Company accepted the challenge. Walter and his crew solved many difficulties such as transporting a rented portable steam engine and other machinery. The logs were five miles from the gravel road and the real difficulty was in traveling the bare rocky terrain of the last one and a half miles. After arriving at the log dump, the men built camps of rough lumber and tarpaper. Despite the discomforts of black flies, mosquitoes and heat, they finished their work. After the logs were sawn, the mill was dismantled and moved downstream to a winter road on Lot 9, Concession 2 , Joly.
Walter Kent operated this mill until 1941. At that time, Cecil and Lewis Kent took over, and built a new steam-mill east of that site on Lot 12. Concession 2. Joly. Years before, this place known as Katon's Office, had been a camping place for the river drivers of the Highland Lumber Company.
In 1953, the Kent Brothers built a new diesel-powered mill a short distance east on the same millpond. At that time rapid changes to facilitate the manufacture of lumber were being installed. Cecil and Lewis regularly added new and modem machinery to their mill. In 1975, they decided to discontinue operations.
About 1975, when Michael Kent. Lewis son graduated as a forester from the University of Toronto, his desire was to build roof trusses. A small facility was built behind the site but after a short time it was obvious that the demand exceeded the
supply. Kent Trusses moved to Lot 28, Concession 10, Strong in August 1975. The truss mill expanded until 1983 when it was destroyed by fire. With characteristic Kent determination, Michael began again. Soon a new modern plant was assembled and its capacity is increasing constantly. In the intervening years, Michael had purchased the logging, sawmill and planning mill from his father and uncle.
The logging of the white pine motivated the early lumber barons to persuade governments to survey and open up inaccessible areas of East Parry Sound. Although the pine has long since disappeared lumbering and its related industries continue to thrive.