Cass, West Virginia, was a major center for white pine logging in the 1800s. The town was founded in 1873 by the West Virginia Central & Pittsburgh Railway, which was looking for a way to transport the vast amounts of white pine timber that were growing in the area to the eastern markets.
The white pine was a valuable timber tree, and it was used to make a wide variety of products, including lumber, shingles, and furniture. The logging industry in Cass boomed in the late 1800s, and by 1900, the town was one of the largest logging centers in the United States.
The logging process was very labor-intensive, and the loggers worked long hours in dangerous conditions. They used axes and saws to fell the trees, and then they used teams of horses to drag the logs to the nearest railroad siding. The logs were then loaded onto trains and shipped to sawmills in the eastern United States.
The logging industry in Cass peaked in the early 1900s, and by the 1920s, the white pine forests had been largely depleted. The town declined rapidly, and it was eventually abandoned in the 1960s.
Today, Cass is a ghost town, but it is also a popular tourist destination. The Cass Scenic Railroad operates steam trains between Cass and Bald Knob, and the town is also home to a museum and a number of other historic buildings.
The history of white pine logging in Cass is a story of boom and bust. The industry brought great wealth to the town, but it also caused the destruction of the white pine forests. Today, Cass is a reminder of the important role that the logging industry played in the development of West Virginia.
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