21 Earthy Photos That Show What Life Was Like for Loggers

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 09/11/2024 in wow

Lumberjacks haven't always had fancy tools to get the job done, and loggers of the early 1900s used equal parts determination and delusion to fell some of the biggest trees in the world.

Here are 21 pics of old-growth loggers that make you want to grab an ax, suit up, and scale a redwood.

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1.
Another day at work for these lumberjacks in Oregon, 1918.
2.
How lumberjacks used to cut trees in 1946.
3.
Lumberjacks sit on a giant spruce log 30 feet in circumference. Cascade Mountains, Washington, 1905.
4.
Five Californian lumberjacks work in the Redwoods, 1915.
5.
Lumberjacks cut down a massive redwood in the forests of the American Northwest, 1902.
6.
Logging in Kalama, Washington, 1880 -1899.
7.
Early Kalama-area loggers with steam donkey, circa 1900-1909.
8.
9.
1910s - era lumberjacks working among the redwoods in Humboldt County, California, when tree logging was at its peak.
10.
Lumberjacks in British Columbia, Canada, date unknown.
11.
A group of lumberjacks who have just downed a giant Sequoia in California,1905.
12.
Lumberjacks, the Pacific NW about 1901.
13.
A high rigger cuts the top off a tree as his colleagues watch from below, British Columbia circa 1920.
14.
Unemployed lumber worker goes with his wife to the bean harvest. Note social security number tattooed on his arm, Oregon, 1939 by Dorothea Lange.
15.
Michigan Loggers pose alongside their world record haul, a load of more than 36,000 board-feet of lumber destined for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, circa 1890s.
16.
Lumberjacks in Upper Michigan, ca. 1899.
17.
Lumberjacks in Portland, 1915.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Lumberjill Jeri Smith won first place at the Timber Days Festival in Sutherlin, Oregon, 1953.

1.
Another day at work for these lumberjacks in Oregon, 1918.
2.
How lumberjacks used to cut trees in 1946.
3.
Lumberjacks sit on a giant spruce log 30 feet in circumference. Cascade Mountains, Washington, 1905.
4.
Five Californian lumberjacks work in the Redwoods, 1915.
5.
Lumberjacks cut down a massive redwood in the forests of the American Northwest, 1902.
6.
Logging in Kalama, Washington, 1880 -1899.
7.
Early Kalama-area loggers with steam donkey, circa 1900-1909.
8.
9.
1910s - era lumberjacks working among the redwoods in Humboldt County, California, when tree logging was at its peak.
10.
Lumberjacks in British Columbia, Canada, date unknown.
11.
A group of lumberjacks who have just downed a giant Sequoia in California,1905.
12.
Lumberjacks, the Pacific NW about 1901.
13.
A high rigger cuts the top off a tree as his colleagues watch from below, British Columbia circa 1920.
14.
Unemployed lumber worker goes with his wife to the bean harvest. Note social security number tattooed on his arm, Oregon, 1939 by Dorothea Lange.
15.
Michigan Loggers pose alongside their world record haul, a load of more than 36,000 board-feet of lumber destined for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, circa 1890s.
16.
Lumberjacks in Upper Michigan, ca. 1899.
17.
Lumberjacks in Portland, 1915.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Lumberjill Jeri Smith won first place at the Timber Days Festival in Sutherlin, Oregon, 1953.