Log Drive, Maine, ca. 1890. Maine State Museum. Gift of Mrs. W. Robinson Brown, 68.187.12
Log Drive, Maine, ca. 1890. Maine State Museum. Gift of Mrs. W. Robinson Brown, 68.187.12
Log drivers usually began their work in March when the ice began to melt and the streams flow. Lumbermen typically stacked logs near the shores or in the shallow waters. This allowed the men to easily launch the logs into the water and float them downstream to the sawmills.
This image shows men in four bateaux (boats). Drivers chose bateaux because they had flat bottoms which provided stability in flowing waters and allowed men to stand up to maneuver logs.