Log Stamps

Log Stamps. . , Logs were cut in the winter and stacked on the riverbank until they could be floated down river in the spring. Many rivers carried logs from more than one logging camp, so it was important to know which logs came from which camps. Before sending logs down the river, loggers marked each log with a unique symbol designating the camp and log ownership, much like branding cattle in the open range. When the logs reached their destination they were sorted according to stamp and collected into booms. Booms were constructed by chaining logs end to end to form a barrier, which would contain the logs until milled. Booms of logs were sold to the saw mills and milled into boards., Each logging camp or camp owner had an individual identification mark. All marks were registered with the surveyor general's office as a means to limit duplication. A reverse image of the mark was forged out of cast iron to form the log stamp. When hit with a hammer, it would leave an indentation less than an inch deep in the soft end-grain of the log. Both ends of the log were stamped in multiple places so that at lease one mark was visible while the log floated in the water¹., Even though logs are no longer floated down the river, some logging companies still use log stamps today., ¹Bachman, Elizabeth M. "Minnesota Log Marks." Minnesota History Magazine 26.2 (1945): 126 – 137 Print., [Captions:] , Registered Minnesota Log Marks, River pig with a pike pole, From the collection of the Anoka County Historical Society, Photos and historical information courtesy of the Anoka County Historical Society.