Logs were shipped by rail from northern Minnesota to Stillwater and made into rafts. They were then floated down the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers. The rafts usually consisted of 8 to 10 strings of logs fastened side by side, each string measuring 16 across and about 400 feet long. Some of these enormous rafts stretched 4 or 5 acres in size.
Lumber was rafted downstream from Stillwater. Boards were arranged in cribs or heavy crates, each 16 feet wide and 32 feet long. A lumber raft might contain as many as 200 cribs.
men, women, children standing to the side of the falls; copyright 1897 by B. L. Lingley; caption given in six different languages on the verso of card; verso also gives descriptive information
Contributing Institution:
Hennepin County Library, James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library
Fading summer view of Minnehaha Falls from up on top looking towards the falls; back of stereograph card is a label for the United Stereoscopic Society, American Division.
Contributing Institution:
Hennepin County Library, James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library
The Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This image is by Arthur Adams, Minneapolis high school teacher, local historian, and photographer. Adams traveled throughout Minnesota, taking photographs to augment his lectures. His studio was located at 3648 Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis.