Wood carving of a lumberjack, Algonquin Logging Museum
Sometimes it's good to look back a couple of hundred years to see how lucky we are to be living in the 21st century. Many of the first settlers in Canada were farmers who spent the winter cutting trees, many off their own land in logging camps.
Visiting the Algonquin Logging Museum was like taking a step back in time to the logging days in the area in and around the Algonquin Provincial Park.
Camboose shanty
Logging in the Algonquin area began in the early 1830s and was pretty much a winter occupation. In autumn, loggers cleared roads for hauling hay, provisions, and timber. They also built shanties such as the recreated one in the photo above. Would you believe 52 lumberjacks would have lived inside this shanty?
The shanty seen from a side, notice the log chimney and cedar scoop roof
No need for windows since the loggers were inside the shanty only when it was dark. Before dawn every day, they began "hurling down" white pines and didn't finish until after sunset. The cedar scoop roof prevented snow and rain from entering the shanty.
Central fireplace
Inside the shanty, a roaring fire kept the shanty warm.
A crude wooden stool
Bunks
Lumberjacks slept in their clothes, two to a bunk. There's no place for washing up so the "aroma" must have been ripe.
Wooden door hinge
More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.
44 comments:
That woodcarving is extraordinary!
Loved hearing how the lumberjacks lived in the shanty. Always enjoy your bits of history.
Darla
Oh what a fantastic post I love the history and the photos.
I know my Great Grandfather lived in one of those I had no idea just how hard that would have been. Our ancestors were incredibly tough. B
this is a wonderful piece of history. thanks for sharing this place. it really is amazing and that hinge is something i have not seen before. sooo glad i don't have to sleep on one of those bunks
the fire place is beautiful
life must have been so hard
You are of course right! We should visit places like this from time to time to appreciate what we often take for granted. Thank you for sharing this... it does make one think and appreciate the "mod cons" we often don't appreciate as much as we should!
This is remarkable history, and I am sure glad I am in the 21st century!
Very glad to see your wonderful photos.
I agree with you completely. Regularly I say to myself or to a companion that we are very, very lucky.
Seems appropriate that a lumberjack would be carved out of wood. I bet these hardworking folk never dreamed how far this tree cutting thing could go.
I've never seen a building like that before. I thought too as I looked at the pictures, it must have stunk to high heaven in there. And the snoring, yikes!
My god! - 52 lumberjacks and no showers! Imagine.
wow, what a gorgeous structure (now that it has aired out a bit!)
They did a lot of great work back in time. I hope these things will be well taken care of.
Happy week to you!:-)
I enjoyed learning a bit of history about logging. Great place to visit and your photos are marvelous.
Belíssimas fotos!
Aprecio imenso a arte em madeira!
Grata pela visita ao meu cantinho. Ailime
I now have the lumberjack song going in my head!
What an amazing museum! That woodwork is extraordinary - I can't imagine having to build my entire home from scratch, I'm glad to be living in 2012!
My how things have changed! An interesting post. New Brunswick is well known for it's lumbering over the centuries too. Not so much these days but we still have lots of forests.
I saw something similar in Saint-Félicien, Québec... Now, let's say that I wouldn't mind having this for a cabin (I'd add a few windows of course)...
What an extraordinary bit of history; thank you for sharing!
I can't help but think how claustrophobic and crowded that cabin would be.
Interesting reading and informative pictures, - great post!
What a terrific post and photos for the day, EG! I love the history! It does do us all some good to look back at life then to help us appreciate how MUCH we have now!! Wonderful! Yes, I too, get claustrophobic just looking at the cabin and bunk beds!! Fragrant indeed!!
Interesting museum and I like the sculpture.
Nice piece of history. I love visiting these types of places. But sure glad I don't have to live like that.
I've always dreamed of living in a log cabin. Beautiful.
Just came back from an internet free vacation and am catching up on your blog:) Hope you have a good week and it's nice to be home again.
When we say "the good old days" somehow I don't think we are thinking of this!!! Fascinating place I bet. The shanty is beautiful in its own way.
What a great job of carving! And the shanty roof is ingenuous construction.
Thanks for sharing the history of the cabin and lumberjacks. The carved statue is wonderful. Great photos!
A great post! I have always wanted to visit that museum. Thanks for sharing.
Nice shots. That's a big shanty.
Tough work, but somebody had to do it!
Fantastic. But I think you need only go back about 100 years. My mother's dad came to northern Minnesota from Sweden and hacked his way through the woods, eventually building a house and barn and a farm of sorts...but what a tough life. Only one stove in the middle of the downstairs...upstairs the beds were piled high with bedding to try to keep warm...
And the soil was rocky and it was winter most of the year! :-)
I agree. Living now is one hell of a lot better!
Looking at those bunk made my back hurt.
So fascinating! I'm glad to see the shanty and learn about it. Thanks!
i can only imagine the aroma inside this log cabin with 52 lumberjacks.:p what a back-breaking life they had.
This place is a kind of heritage site. Grand pictures.
The workmanship is fabulous!
i couldn't agree more, part of our present is because of our past :)
Quite the rustic time the type of lodgings they had in those days. An impressive sculpture of the logger.
Very cool piece of history!
Wow, that wooden hinge is fabulous, and I love the roof of the building.
You're right, the aroma must have been something else, all those unwashed loggers, two to a bunk (for warmth, I'm sure).
Fascinating history. Loggers certainly played a big part in the development of BC, my home province.
K
Very interesting. Thanks!
=)
I always wonder how the early pioneers survived and did all they had to do. and often think I would not have had what it took to survive...
I like 21 st or late 20th century I like the computer.
Post a Comment