Wells in Delta County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
River Drives
Photographed by Joel Seewald, August 18, 2019
1. River Drives Marker
Inscription.
River Drives. . The Upper Peninsula forest was more than half pine, most of it white pine. White pine was the greatest of our forest trees, growing to great size in its 400 years of life expectancy. This softwood, easily sawed with the poor saws of the time and weather resistant as lumber, was valuable timber. And, wonder of wonders, it floated. It could be cut in winter and driven down the Escanaba and other rivers on their spring flood crests to mills at their mouths. In 1851, the N. Ludington Company, owned by Brothers Nelson and Harrison Ludington, bought the Escanaba River mills and enlarged them to produce 10 to 12 million board beet of pine lumber yearly. The hardwood portion of the virgin forests had to await the coming of the railroads for mass marketing as they did not float well; some, not at all.
The Upper Peninsula forest was more than half pine, most of it white pine. White pine was the greatest of our forest trees, growing to great size in its 400 years of life expectancy. This softwood, easily sawed with the poor saws of the time and weather resistant as lumber, was valuable timber. And, wonder of wonders, it floated. It could be cut in winter and driven down the Escanaba and other rivers on their spring flood crests to mills at their mouths. In 1851, the N. Ludington Company, owned by Brothers Nelson and Harrison Ludington, bought the Escanaba River mills and enlarged them to produce 10 to 12 million board beet of pine lumber yearly. The hardwood portion of the virgin forests had to await the coming of the railroads for mass marketing as they did not float well; some, not at all.
Location. 45° 47.886′ N, 87° 4.634′ W. Marker is in Wells, Michigan, in Delta County. It can be reached from Mead Road north of US Highway 2/US Highway 41/Michigan Highway
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35. Marker is on a nature/historical trail behind the parking lot at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Escanaba Forest Management Unit. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6833 Hwy 2 41 & M-35, Wells MI 49894, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 9, 2019. It was originally submitted on September 9, 2019, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 224 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 9, 2019, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.
