Sanders County Ledger - Your Best Source For Sanders County News

105 YEARS AGO • MAY 17, 1917

BIG JOB IN WOODS OVER

Log Drive Started Sunday

Crew of 75 Men Will be Retained to Cut 6,000,000 Feet for Sawmill

The cutting of 21,000,000 feet of timber, one of the biggest woods jobs in this section last winter at Weeksville, was finished last Saturday noon when the last log went down the chute to the river.

With the close of the job the log drive began. There are 27 men engaged in it. With four boats they are picking up all logs along the river except those high and dry on the bank, which are being left for high water to dispose of. Camp was made at the mouth of Thompson River yesterday and the gang is expected to reach the lake here today. The boats will be carried around the dam by team.

The close of the job at Weeksville lets about 175 men out of work. Of the 250 employed, about 75 are retained to cut 6,000,000 feet of logs, a considerable distance back from the river and run a sawmill installed to take care of them. The mill will run all summer and the lumber will be hauled to Plains.

A REAL LOG

“Bull of the Woods,” Last Log to Hit the Skids at Weeksville Was a Whopper

The last log of the thousands that went down the skids at Weeksville it the water Saturday noon with a splash that almost dried up the stream. Someone had named the big log “The Bull of the Woods: and it had been held to the last for fear that it might break the skids. It was a yellow pine 16 feet long and 61 inches in diameter. It scaled 2930 feet. Another log almost as big was cut from the same tree and went down the skids just before the “Bull.”

30 YEARS AGO • MAY 21, 1992

FS UNVEILS PLANS FOR BULL RIVER CAMPGROUOND

Jim Mershon, Cabinet District Ranger for the Forest Service at Trout Creek, unveiled a long-range improvement plan for the Bull River Campground.

Although some of the plans re projected over a 10-20 year period, many of them are taking place this month to improve services to the many campers, boaters and fishermen that utilize this popular Forest Service facility at the confluence of the Bull River and Clark Fork River west of Noxon.

The campground which was constructed in the 1960s will get some needed facelifts, with decaying tabletops for picnic tables being replaced. Toilets, which consist of open bottomed culverts no longer comply with environmental regulations, are being replaced. The water system is being tested and upgraded.

With Highway 200 being named a Scenic Byway, increased use of the facilities is expected. Eighteen spaces is not sufficient for the heavier demand for spaces. Seven new larger units are being constructed as well as a loop for the convenience of drive-through traffic to accommodate the larger trailers and campers that are being seen.

In the announced plan, roads into the campground will be paved. Some comments have been received by the Forest Service at Trout Creek to the effect that paving would destroy the environment or at the least detract from the natural beauty of the area. However, Bill Rockwell, of the Cabinet Ranger District notes that the North Shore Campground at Trout Creek has been paved for some years and none of these side effects have proved true. On the contrary, campers report that it cuts down on the dust in the summer kicked up into clouds when traffic drives through the area.

Several new covered picnic shelters on the knoll overlooking the boating docks are in the plans along with a rest stop along the highway entrance outside the park which would consist of toilet facilities and a drinking fountain. Rockwell notes that many travelers just want a rest stop and then continue on their way. This would satisfy the need.

A swimming beach area separate from the boating docks is in the long-range plan. In addition, a large area which could accommodate groups of 60 or more persons to be used for family reunions, etc. is also on the docket. This would be situated away from the other camp sites for privacy.