There are many truths that archaeologists use to base their opinions about past events. Though they are all important to the archaeologist, one fact that is used more often than quite a few of the others is evolution. Evolution is the fact that things-whether designs on pottery, changes in lifestyle (i.e. hunting to fishing), or, biologically, organisms-change over time. It must be made clear that different things change at

different rates. For example, the style of decoration on pottery might have changed significantly over a period of fifty years, where it took tens of thousands of years for human ancestors to make significant changes. Also, other factors such as geographical location, topography, and climate can effect the rates of evolution.

Evolution is also made evident in industry. The focus of my paper will be on the lumbering industry, particularly in Newaygo County, Michigan. I will compare a modern day lumbering operation, Dix Lumber Co., whose mill lies just outside of the city of Newaygo, with various lumbering operations from the prime era of lumbering in Newaygo County, the mid-to late 1800s. It would be ideal to compare Dix Lumbering Co. to just one lumbering company from the 1800s, but this is not possible. There just isn't enough information on any one particular mill. In my research, though, I have found that most of the mills from the mid to late 1800s in Newaygo County, at least in key aspects, were similar. With the vast array of archaeological information, in the form of written records and documents, pictures, and artifacts, on the overall Newaygo County lumbering industry in the mid to late 1800s, and the information on Dix Lumber Co., gained from a personal interview with the owner, Dave Dix, I will make evident the evolution of lumbering over the past 150 years or so. By doing this, I will show how important the concept of evolution is to the archaeological world.

The first big industry in the Newaygo area was fur trading. Much trapping and trading. Much trapping and trading happened along the Muskegon River, which runs through Newaygo County and a number of neighboring counties, eventually emptying into Lake Michigan at Muskegon, In 1837, two brothers with the last name of Pennoyer came from Chicago, led by the French trader Mitchell Charloe (this is probably an Americanized form of the name Michel Charleau), with the idea of starting a sawmill. Their dream was never fulfilled, though, because they ended up dying on a boat caught in a gale storm about two years later. Two other men John A. Brooks and John F. Stearns, came upon current-day Croton at about the same time as the Pennoyer brothers. There was no gale storm to stand in the way of their dream, just bad luck at dam building. A discouraged Brooks went downstream and founded Newaygo, but Stearns stood steadfast and built a mill in the Croton area. This was the beginning of an era of lumbering in Newaygo County. (Thompson, 1976)

Though it started over a hundred years after the first lumber mill in Newaygo County commenced operation, the Dix Lumber Co. nonetheless took the same amount of drive and determination to start. Started by David Dix (father of the man I interviewed for this paper) and his brother in 1950, the Dix Lumber Co. was originally a portable sawmill and lumbering operation. The elder David took sole ownership, and set up the mill in its current location in 1959. Thanks to the hard work of the entire family, the mill has thrived, and should continue to do so for years to come. (six, 1996)

A logical place to start the comparison of past and present lumbering is at the source, at the wood itself. In other words, I will compare the kinds of wood that were cut for lumber in Newaygo County in the 1 800s with those types that are cut for lumber currently by Dix Lumber Co.

According to written records, (cite EM) the overwhelming majority of wood that was logged in Newaygo County in the 1 800s was white pine. Virgin forests of white pine towered throughout Newaygo County. They were fairly easy to transport because of the Muskegon River and had a variety of uses. The main uses of white pine timber were lumber and shingles. Some was also used for the manufacture of pails and tubs. (Spooner)

In the late 1 800s, white pine was still the most sought after wood in Newaygo County, but the introduction of railroads into logging territory made it possible to log hardwoods such as white oak, ash, and elm. They could not be cut before because of their density. This high density made it impossible to float them down the rivers and streams, which was done to transport most of the white pine. This hardwood timber was used for the manufacture of lumber and furniture. (Thompson, 1976)

The wood used today is different in species and type. Dix Lumber Co. seldom cuts white pine. They mostly cut hardwoods, such as red and white oak, red and sugar maple, ash, cherry, beech, and aspen. This timber, depending on the species and quality, is used for a variety of purposes, including the manufacture of pallets, paper, moldings, furniture, and veneer. (Dix, 1996)

Though lumbering has made evident changes in the kind of wood cut and the manufacture of wood products from the 1 800s to now, some of the wood cut and the use for that wood have remained the same. But the location at where the timber is cut and transportation of that timber to the mill in the 1 800s shows almost no similarities to the same lumbering aspects in the present. Written records and photographs (C.E. or Shower) make the differences in these aspects obvious.

As mentioned previously, white pine was the most sought after and cut down tree in Newaygo County's mid to late 1 800s logging boom. A reason for its popularity, besides its abundance, was its efficiency of transportation. It is a softwood, which means it is not very dense or heavy. This gives it a lower specific gravity than water, which allows it to float. For this reason, most white pine logging was done near a stream or river. The short distance from the body of water made it easy to drag the logs, usually by horse or oxen, to that stream or river. The mills were almost always on a river or large stream, not only because the pine logs were transported by the rivers and streams, but also because many of the mills were powered by their moving water (by the use of waterwheels).

In 1872, species of hardwoods could be cut (see "Kind of Wood and Manufacture") and used. The reason for this was that railroads were at this time being used for timber transportation in Newaygo County. The method of flotation on the river was still being used with much of the pine, but much more of it could be cut down farther inland, away from the water, because the trains could go inland. Tracks were laid by the rivers and streams so the timber could be dumped into the water in order to be more easily and cheaply transported to the mills than by train. Track was also laid to the mill for the transportation of the hardwoods directly from the forest. These hardwoods and the white pine were usually cut within a five mile radius of the train. Much of the lumbering done in Newaygo County in the late l 800s could not have been done without the use of locomotives. (Thompson, 1976)

Today's form of timber transportation, since the river is no longer needed for transport, allows the mill to be located away from a river or stream. The Dix Lumber Co. is, like many of today's mills, not located on a river. It's found along one of Newaygo's back roads. Dave Dix stated that it would be more ideal for his mill to be located on a major highway, since frost laws in the spring and late plowing of the road in the winter limit the amount of timber he and his employees can transport. I guess you could say that he would like to move from the dirt and pavement "stream" of the back roads to the pavement "river" of the highway.

The efficiency in timber transport of semis in comparison to the rivers and trains of the 1 800s allows timber from a much larger area to be cut. Dix's cut timber from within a one hundred mile radius of the mill, where timber was usually only cut from five miles or less from the river or train. (six, 1996)

Though the other aspects of lumbering (i. E. timber transportation, kind of wood, etc.) have a legitimate archaeological foundation by using written records and photographs from Newaygo County's lumbering past and comparing them with the information gained from an interview with Dave Dix, and with certain current day, working "artifacts" used by him and the workers of his company, the worn, rusty, diehard archaeological information is found in the comparison of the logging and mill equipment used in the past with that used in the present. Thanks to the Newaygo Museum, some of these artifacts have been preserved. They give us a perspective on the past that no other form of archaeological evidence can give us.

A good place to star in comparing lumbering equipment is at the source, at the cutting of the tree. The basic idea of cutting down the tree remains the same, but now it is done in a much different way with equipment that is very different from that of the past. In Newaygo County in the 1800s, axes were used to start the cutting of the tree (it would cut it so the tree would fall in the direction they wanted). The axes would also finish the cutting. These crosscut saws can be dated, at least relatively, by evidence of or

lack of evidence of a raker, which performed the task of clearing the sawdust away from the saw. Rakers were an innovation first used on saws in the late 1800s. Also, both the axes and the saws were powered by humans. (Thompson, 1976)

Today, Dix Lumber Co. uses chain saws and a vehicle fit with a shear-head (on which revolves a large, sharp chain) to fell the trees. They are both gasoline powered, though a human must still operate them. With the invention of gasoline powered saws, the same work can be done with fewer men in a more efficient manner than was possible in lumbering in the 1800s. (six, 1996)

The tool called the skidder has evolved in a way similar to that of the saws. In the 1800s, Newaygo County lumber men picked up logs and loaded them on to either a horse powered or oxen powered sleigh or wagon depending on the season, or a train if one was available. The skidders used in this logging era were actually a pair of tongs, operated by the lumber men with human power. Dix Lumber Co. used a skidder of a much different variety. It is presently a vehicle with an arm that picks up logs, moves them to the truck, and unloads them. The skidder, like the saw, has evolved from a fairly inefficient human powered tool into a much more efficient, gasoline powered beast of burden. (Thompson, 1976) (six, 1996)

Probably the one piece of equipment that is synonymous in most peoples' minds when they think of a sawmill is the head saw, the large circular saw that does the greatest amount of timber cutting of any saw in a mill. The head saw, too, has evolved quite a bit over time.

The circular saw was invented in 1850. Until that time, band saws that were powered by waterwheels or steam were used to do all types of cutting. The Newaygo Company, who installed a six foot circular head saw in 1870, was the first mill in Newaygo County to install a saw of this type. This date therefore makes it possible to relatively date all other circular head saws of this type found in Newaygo County, and all other mills (if a head saws is left) from the mid to late 1800s logging boom in Newaygo County. (Spooner)

The circular head saw, though quite an innovation in mid 1800s lumbering, has changed quite a bit over the years. Dix Lumber C. uses a circular head saw, similar in size to those of the past, but different in makeup. In the 1800s, the head saws consisted of a single piece steel blade, which meant if on part of the broke, the whole thing would have to be scrapped and replaced. Today, the majority of the blade is steel, but the tips, can be replaced if one happens to break, or, more likely, if one needs sharpening. (six, 1996)

Other kinds of equipment that can be at least relatively, or even sometimes absolutely dated, are surviving tools used in the river transportation part of Newaygo County's 1 800s lumbering. These tools, which include the pike, cant hook, and peavey, are no longer used in current day lumbering, since the river has now become an obsolete form of transportation for timber. Surviving tools from Newaygo County used for moving logs on the river can therefore at least be dated to before the turn of the century, when the lumbering era died in the Newaygo County area.

Evolution is something that every organism, art style, and even industry experiences, at least to some extent, over time. Some things change at quicker rates than others. Lumbering happens to be an industry that has changed, or evolved, at a more rapid rate than many others.

What makes evolution so wonderful for the archaeological world is that it allows us to date things, at least relatively, by looking at gradual changes. In the case of the evolution of lumbering, many dates can be absolute or a very close approximation, thanks to known dates of inventions that are directly linked to the industry (i.e. six foot circular head saw). It would be much more difficult to show the evolution and then date artifacts. Nonetheless, I believe my investigation shows the importance of the idea of evolution in the entire archaeological world.

I would first and foremost like to thank Barbara J. Billerbeck and Dave Dix, without whose help this paper wouldn't have been possible. I would also like to thank Harry L. Spooner, Robert I. Thompson, and the Newaygo Centennial Committee, whose wonderful compilations of logging records helped an immense amount. Also, thanks to Rodd Sutton and the Newaygo Museum for all the help.

Skidder used in present-day lumbering