Wawa's Logging Heritage

Wawa's Logging Heritage. . , Wawa's economy is based on our abundance of natural resources. Fur, fish, iron, gold, water and trees. , The jumble of logs found at the base of Scenic High Falls are the remnants of Wawa's important logging history. Wood was first harvested along the Magpie and Michipicoten Rivers in 1900. Pulpwood and logs for railway ties were cut along the brand new Algoma Central Railway right of way between Michipicoten Harbour and the newly opened Helen Iron Mine. Farmers and labourers from Eastern Canada looking for winter work would travel to the Michipicoten area to take up axe and saw in the remote logging camps scattered throughout the region. The main method of logging was to fell the trees by hand, haul the logs by horse on icy winter roads and pile the harvested wood onto frozen lakes. , A series of dams was constructed on the outgoing streams of these lakes to ensure high water levels. During the spring thaw, the wood would drift to the dams, which would be opened in a particular sequence to ensure the swiftest flush of wooden debris down the rocky, river bed to its next destination. Despite their best efforts, the rivers sometimes jammed and waterfalls like this one became a mammoth tangle of pulpwood debris. It often took many strong backs, ingenuity and good old-fashioned dynamite to clear the way. , Imagine the sight and sound of thousands of 8 and 4 foot pulp logs crashing over the 70 foot chasm here at Magpie High Falls. The 90 degree sweep of the river was often blocked with wood which had to be pushed, pried and prodded loose to continue the rest of its swift descent downstream to the Michipicoten River. Where the Magpie meets the Michipicoten below Silver Falls at Michipicoten River Village, the logs were rafted and prepared for their journey on Lake Superior. , During spring log drives, the surefooted workers called Rodeo Hogs had the job of hopping and dancing across the floating logs near the river mouths. The wood was bound into huge wooden rafts surrounded by large boom logs. These rafts were then ready to be towed down the eastern Superior shoreline to the pulp mills in Sault Ste. Marie. , During World War Two, German Prisoners of War helped fill the labour shortage in the logging operations on the Magpie and Michipicoten Rivers. Forestry continues to play a role in Wawa's economy today. , [other photo captions] , . Michipicoten River, 1930’s , . Log Jam on the Michipicoten River