Vintage Logging, Saw Mills, Redwood
Logging and Lumber Mills Film Library

Felling Forest Giants (ca. 1920s)

Documentary on the forest and logging industry in the 1920's. Great shots of tree felling and of the saw mills mills converting the trees to useful lumber.

Producer: Pathé
Audio/Visual: Silent, Black & White
Run time: 12:36

Redwood Empire Special and Lumber Mills (1914)

A celebration of the grand opening of the railroad with emphasis on what it will do for the logging industry in that area.

Producer: Unknown
Audio/Visual: Silent, Black & White
Run time: 14:31

Completion of Northwestern Pacific Rail Road (1914)

This film celebrates the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad with a Golden Spike ceremony and celebration on October 23-25, 1914. The film starts by traveling the railroad until it reaches the point of the celebration at Cain Rock. Then it shows festivities there and at other locations. Additionally, it shows a short segment of the first load of redwood heading off on a transport train.

Producer: Unknown
Audio/Visual: Silent, Black & White
Run time: 29:10

Redwood Saga (1940)

Learn how the Northern California redwood lumber industry operated in the 40s. It show how the trees are cut and transported and how they are milled at the saw mill into finished products - like lumber - ready for sale across the United States.

This film shows it all, cutting, loading, transportation, mill sawing and finishing operations of the Northern California's redwood logging and lumber industry.

Producer: Haselton (Guy D.)
Audio/Visual: Sound, Black & White
Run time: 10:27

Wood For War (ca. 1942)

This film shows the strategic importance of the lumber industry to the wartime effort.

Producer: Calvin Company
Audio/Visual: Sound, Color
Run time: 6:24

Trees to Tribunes (1937)

An excellent film on how newspapers are produced from beginning to end. The film shows how the trees that make up the Chicago Tribune come down from Quebec logging operations. It shows the logging camps and how the trees are gathered and transported in both summer and winter. It then shows how the logs are converted from wood to paper by special processes at the saw mill and pulp plants and then it is on to the newspaper where it is printed up into the daily newspaper.

Producer: Unknown
Audio/Visual: Sound, Black & White
Run time: 19:17