Lumberman's Monument

Standing at 14 feet (4.27 m), the bronze statue by Robert Ingersoll Aitken features a log surrounded by three figures: a timber cruiser holding a compass, a sawyer with his saw slung over his shoulder, and a river rat resting his peavey on the ground.

Pathways are lined with exhibits with descriptive signs allowing visitors to learn about the history of the logging industry in Michigan.

The monument overlooks Cooke Dam Pond and Horseshoe Island on the Au Sable river which was a major logging thoroughfare.

Timber cruisers, who worked for lumbermen, would survey the woods and reserve the best plots for their bosses in the land office.

The logs were then loaded onto sleds and pulled to the nearest riverbank by horses or oxen, over paths in the ice, and dumped down stream towards the sawmill.

The many rivers and lakes within Michigan as well as its huge stretches of pines and hardwoods gave it a great advantage in the lumber business.

[5] The lumber industry in Michigan boomed following the Civil War as the economy generally rebounded and urban areas in the north, particularly Detroit and Chicago, entered phases of dramatic expansion.

Although there was increasing awareness of the importance of replanting, the time needed to grow mature trees made this problematic.