"Timber!” cried the sawyers as saws and axes brought giant pines
crashing to the ground. Teams of horses moved the logs to nearby
riverbanks to be stacked into huge piles at the rollways. At the
rollway, the company scaler would measure each log . . . — — Map (db m216841) HM
Experience the Tradition
-North America's richest, longest nonstop canoe race.
-Middle Jewel of North America's Triple Crown of Canoe Racing.
-Men and women of all ages paddle 120 miles nonstop through the night to compete for cash and . . . — — Map (db m190040) HM
With an original capacity of 9000 kilowatts, Cooke
Hydro began generating
electricity in December
1911. It was the first of the
six Au Sable River hydros.
Cooke is named for banker
Andrew Cooke, who helped
secure financing for the
project . . . — — Map (db m216845) HM
The Foote Brothers
By 1911, the Jackson-based
Foote brothers had built
several large hydropower
dams in west Michigan and
successfully captured much
of the market there. Now, in
concert with Oscoda-based
lumber baron Edward F.
Loud . . . — — Map (db m216848) HM
Welcome to Consumers Energy's Cooke Hydro facility, designated as
one of Michigan's historic sites. While here, please help us preserve the
natural beauty of this area so others can also enjoy it.
This map shows the location of camping, . . . — — Map (db m216847) HM
Cooke Hydroelectric Plant William Augustine Foote, a Jackson entrepreneur, built a series of hydroelectric plants along the Au Sable River with the help of his brother, electrical engineer James Berry Foote. The Footes enlisted the aid of . . . — — Map (db m184796) HM
“Oscoda and AuSable are Wiped Off The Map!” headlined the July 12, 1911, Detroit Free Press. The day before, forest fires, fanned by thirty-mile-per-hour winds, had destroyed these “twin cities” and killed four people. Refugees fled to this . . . — — Map (db m154600) HM
Erected in 1865 A.D. by the pioneer lumberman, Henry Martin Loud, who in that year founded in this area one of the largest lumber operations in Michigan.
The church burned in the fire which destroyed the town of Au Sable and most of the . . . — — Map (db m123971) HM
Michigan's Future: Powered
by Renewable Energy
A century ago, Consumers
Energy pioneered renewable
energy with a string of
hydroelectric plants along
Michigan rivers. Today, many of
those hydro plants continue to
operate, and . . . — — Map (db m216851) HM
Five Channels Dam Workers Camp Consumers Power Company (now Consumers Energy) built Five Channels Dam in 1911 and 1912. It was the second of six hydroelectric plants to be built on the lower Au Sable River by the Foote brothers of Jackson (the . . . — — Map (db m184798) HM
Five Channels Hydro was
completed in 1912. This
hydro is named for the
nearby location on the Au
Sable River where there
were once five distinct river
channels. The workers'
camp built to support
construction of the hydro
was an early . . . — — Map (db m216849) HM
With an original capacity of 9,000 kilowatts,
Foote Hydro began generating electricity in
1918. It is the most downstream dam on the
Au Sable River and was named after William
A. Foote.
W.A. Foote founded what later became
Consumers . . . — — Map (db m216854) HM
Michigan's Future: Powered
by Renewable Energy
A century ago, Consumers
Energy pioneered renewable
energy with a string of
hydroelectric plants along
Michigan rivers. Today, many of
those hydro plants continue to
operate, and . . . — — Map (db m216856) HM
As part of the 2005 Century of Service celebration, Forest Service land surveyors established a national network of high accuracy survey
markers. The large brass disk before you is a part of that network. These
survey markers may be used a . . . — — Map (db m216831) HM
The idea of a memorial began with the Kiwanis Clubs
desire to recognize their reforestation efforts with a
fieldstone marker. R.G. Schreck, former Huron National
Forest Supervisor, wanted something a little more impressive
to commemorate the . . . — — Map (db m216835) HM
Log drives often resulted in logs piling up at river
bends and shallow spots. Log jams could grow to be
miles long and as wide as the river. The cry "Jam
Below!” would be passed up the line while a crew of
volunteers tackled the dangerous work . . . — — Map (db m216842) HM
To plant a tree is to perform an act of faith – faith in the future. To plant a whole forest is more than an act of faith – it is a positive building for the future.
The Kiwanis project for the development of some unproductive land in . . . — — Map (db m185059) HM
The initial price of the lumber boom was a deeply scarred wasteland. Ugly
stumps replaced the majestic pine, fires spread additional destruction, and
efforts to farm the land were disastrous due to the soil being infertile.
But there is a . . . — — Map (db m216844) HM
Capable of producing
4,000 kilowatts, the
Loud Hydro was completed in 1913. It is
named for lumber baron
Edward Loud, who had
bought up most of the
cut over Au Sable lands
between 1900-06. Loud
later teamed up with
Consumers Energy
founder . . . — — Map (db m216850) HM
The latter half of the 19th century brought a boom to the woods of northern Michigan. A rapidly growing
nation hungered for sturdy white pine to meet the needs of home builders, ship builders, and growing
industries. The men who met the challenge . . . — — Map (db m217027) HM
With an original capacity of 4,900
kilowatts, Mio Hydro began generating
electricity in 1916. It is the most
upstream dam on the Au Sable River
owned by Consumers Energy and is
named for a nearby town.
William W. Telft, a company . . . — — Map (db m216852) HM
Michigan's Future: Powered
by Renewable Energy
A century ago, Consumers
Energy pioneered renewable
energy with a string of
hydroelectric plants along
Michigan rivers. Today, many of
those hydro plants continue to
operate, and . . . — — Map (db m216853) HM
Sawyers, swampers, and skidders. Many men were
needed to move the pine from forest to rivers.
Starting every winter, timber cruisers searched
for the best stands of white pine, which sawyers
cut down and swampers trimmed. The sleds, pulled
by . . . — — Map (db m216836) HM
Many of these photographs have
been donated to Lamberman's
Monument. Notice the changing
landscape with the progression of time.
People that have not been here for a while think that
the Monument has been moved. It continues to sit on
its . . . — — Map (db m216834) HM
Many logging companies used the Au Sable River to drive their logs to the
sawmills. Each company branded its logs with a distinctive symbol by
pounding the mark into log ends with special hammers. This branding
process was very important because . . . — — Map (db m216839) HM
In 1823 Louis Chevalier, a French-Canadian trader, was granted five hundred arpents (640 acres) of land by the United States government. This land, located on the AuSable River, extends northwesterly in a long, narrow, French ribbon-farm manner. It . . . — — Map (db m184793) HM
River Rats worked the log drives, herding timber to the
mills. A river rat's primary tool was his peavey. A peavey
is a long wooden pole with a metal point and hook. It was
the river rat's main device for pushing and moving the
timber while . . . — — Map (db m216843) HM
