In 1851, the Susquehanna Boom Company built the first section of what would eventually be a 7 mile long log boom along the river bank at Williamsport. Lumber companies branded their logs, sent them down river to the boom, and boomrats sorted the logs, by the brand markings on the ends, into the correct pond for each mill. This is the enterprise that built Millionaires row.

Long before the Boom had been built, logging was already a substantial source of income for the first settlers. Those men had been rafting the river, taking their lumber from the mountains upriver to the ports in Maryland, where the decay resistant, tall white pine was in high demand for ships masts.

With the addition of the log boom, there were now two groups working the lumber trade. It was the Raftsmen versus the Lumbermen, and make no mistake, they were not working together, but rather, engaged in a vicious battle.

The boom obstructed raft traffic and often made maneuvering the waters even more treacherous, as they had to avoid the churning saw mill logs racing down around them. Frequently, the logs coming into the boom would destroy the rafts. The white pine that was most valuable for ships masts was not growing all in one cluster, but rather spread out here and there across the mountains. The new sawmill operators, to protect their interests in the lumber on the mountain, began buying up extensive tracts of timerland, and in doing so, barred the farmer-raftsmen from access to some of the finest stands of trees, on which their livelihood depended.

And if all of that wasn't enough to raise the ire of the raftsmen, the new lumbermen were not careful about what they took when collecting their lumber, and they would often collect the raftsmans squared timer and logs and send it to the boom, along with their own.

The raftsmen immediately began to retaliate by "ironing" the logs. This was done by driving old spikes, horseshoes, or any other scrap metal they could find, into logs until it was hidden by the bark. When the hidden metal was unwittingly struck by high-speed sawing in the mills, it had a most devastating effect.

In August of 1857, James Curly was fined $10 and sentenced to 9 months in jail. He had set a raft loose, in retaliation for the iron in his saw logs.

The two groups appear to have been in court more often then they were in the woods over these years. The raftsmen were frequently filing charges when lumber blocked their access to the water.

In time the state legislature outlawed the ironing of logs, but drivers and mill operators found an even better way of discouraging the practice - they peeled the bark from their logs, so that the iron could not be hidden. The raftsmen had been thwarted once again, and they were not about to take that kindly.

"Log Floating is regarded in this county in the light of a nuisance, and many efforts have been made to have it restricted by law . . . but the Legislature has been so tardy in acting upon the bill before it that our raftsmen have been subjected to this annoyance another season. Heretofore they have borne it as meekly as they could, but it seems with some "forebearance has ceased to be a virtue," and they have determined to apply a corrective

themselves. " reported the Clearfield newspaper in the spring of 1857.

The newspaper editor was likely referring to the ironing of logs, and sabotage in general. Or perhaps he had an inkling of what was to come.

On April 30, the raftsment learned that the loggers were about to begin the log drive. The rafters quickly formed into a "vigilance committee" selected officers, and divided into two companies.

The Raftsmans Riot

On May 1, the raftsmen marched to Clearfield Creek, armed with clubs, axes, and firearms, to confront the loggers. Shots were fired, with three loggers being injured, but not seriously so. The raftsmen then destroyed the loggers boats, cabin, equipment, and supplies, throwing what they could not destroy into the creek.

Until this time, public support had been largely on the side of the raftsmen. This however, seemed to shock everyone into passivity, with editors and public figures no longer taking either side.

On May 13th, the Raftsmans Journal reported that all, or nearly all, of the "Timber, Lumber & Spar rafts" had passed through and were on their way downriver.

The raftsmen did not go to court until that August, to be sentenced for their riot. At the same time, the loggers were also facing nuisance charges for floating loose logs on the creek. Eight raftsmen were charged with riot in the shooting battle, while the loggers were fined with obstructing the public waters. The punishment was light, there were fines issued to nearly everyone, but no jail time.

From here on out, the tensions seemed to dissolve, although the conflict never truly ended. Saw Mills began buying the rafts when they were damaged, preferring to just settle out of court. Occasionally a raftsman would still retaliate with iron in a log, but not as frequently. There was never truly peace, but there were no more riots.

"The two factions eventually learned to cooperate on the river, but the raft pilots became the highest echelon of the industry, and the case system that resulted among lumbermen"

The Clearfied Progress, June 23 1976

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The Susquehanna Lumber Boom In Williamsport Pa

Woodhicks & Logging Camps Log Rafts Williamsport Sawmills
Lumber Trains 1889 Flood The Last Raft
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The Legislative Record: Containing the Debates and Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Legislature - Beginning at page 693

Transition In The Woods By Thomas Cox

Reminiscences of A Pennsylvania Wood Hick

"Drives filled the streams with a churning mass of logs that made rafting more difficult and dangerous than ever and occasionally, when jams developed, barred the passage of rafts altogether. In addition, with their large fixed investments in booms, steam sawmills, and other facilities, down-stream operators soon began buying up extensive tracts of timberland as a means of protecting their interests. In so doing, they barred farmer-raftsmen from access to some of the finest of the stands on which their livelihoods depended. Conflict between the two groups could have been readily predicted."

"The floating of loose saw logs . . . and running of rafts in the usual way, cannot be carried on at the same time. One or the other must cease, and it becomes a question only, of whether the free and uninterrupted navigation of these valuable highways shall continue open for the enjoyment of the mass of the people, or be monopolized by a few. . . . The lumbermen [of this area] ask no monopoly—no protection of any kind that they do not award to others. They are compelled to raft their lumber, place pilots and men upon each raft and so navigate the streams as to allow others to do the same with a common degree of safety. All they ask in return is that those who choose to navigate it with round logs, be compelled to raft them together, and navigate the stream in the same way. There is no hardship in this, and by pursuing that course the interests of all parties will be protected equally."