Lawrence Lumber Company Mill , Jonesboro , 1915 - Timber was plentiful along the Chandler River when the first settlers arrived in Jonesboro . Jonesboro mills produced lumber , staves , shingles and box shooks ( parts for unassembled boxes ). Lawrence Lumber Company manufactured long and short lumber from 1900 to 1916 . The building was destroyed in 1937 when a fire jumped the river , consuming houses , a store , and the mill ( at that time it was the Look Brothers empty box mill ). Photo courtesy of Penobscot Marine Museum .
Seemingly endless stands of birch , spruce , oak , and white pine drew Europeans upriver and inland to measure and claim the wilderness . Seafaring and naval supremacy were so important to the island nation of Great Britain that its North American colonists were forbidden to cut down the largest trees , especially the white pine , perfect for masts , which were strictly reserved for the King ’ s trade .
The vast pine forests and navigable rivers and coastline enabled the region ’ s forestry economy to prosper . Wood products provided significant resources in the 17th and 18th centuries , including housing , barrels , ships , pitch , fence posts , fuel , and charcoal . After the Revolutionary War , the logging and shipbuilding industries converted mass quantities of raw timber into private wealth and commercial transport , affecting the fortunes of England and the United States .
Logging operations grew with the national demand for lumber products as the nation expanded through the 19th and 20th centuries . Thousands of men and horses hauled logs from inland forests and drove them downstream to mills , where they were processed into lumber . Many hundreds of sailing ships were built , and timber was shipped worldwide . The industry employed surveyors to identify likely stands of trees , lumbermen to cut timber , teamsters , and their draft
83