Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Barry Swackhamer
Taken: August 16, 2020
Caption: Clearwater River Log Drives Marker
Additional Description: Captions: (upper left) The log drive was timed with the high water of spring runoff when the Clearwater River was free flowing. The water level went up or down, depending on the melting snows. Sometimes there were massive logjams like this one in 1938.; (bottom left) The wanigan bunkhouse. The long white box, on the lower left, was the commissary which offered gloves, cigarettes, boot caulks, and socks for sale. The woodstove, on the right, burned Presto logs which were stored under the floorboards. Over 100 hot meals were served daily in the cookhouse.; (bottom center) Crews used peaveys and pike poles to move up on river banks, sand bars, or islands and return them to the main channel of the river. Crew members were selected as much for their good judgement and safety sense as for their physical ability. Spiked boots and the agility of a cat were critical in a business were one misstep could lead to an icy, if not fatal, dunking in the Clearwater River.
Submitted: November 7, 2020, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
Database Locator Identification Number: p548349
File Size: 3.273 Megabytes

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