The Lumber boom

The Lumber boom

Damascus, VA.
White Top Mtn.
Damascus Lumber Company
George Boucher

"Northern capital rushed in with an eye on millions to be made from virgin oak, chestnut, pine, and poplar. Trees were cut ruthlessly without regard for future growth. White Top and Cat Face stand as lasting memorials to the denuding of mountains. George Boucher, who was superintendent of the Damascus Lumber Company says, 'If trees had been cut selectively and the younger ones left to grow, the lumber industry would have been a perpetual source of prosperity for Damascus.'"

"As it was it lasted about 25 years. During that time at least three and a half million feet of lumber was taken from the mountains in Washington County,most of it in the Damascus area. The National Lumber Magazine, in 1912 stated that Washington County, Virginia was producing more lumber than the entire state of Pennsylvania."

Louise Fortune Hall

A History of Damascus, 1793-1950, p. 18

Washington County Public Library

1901-1926

Will Stein

Hall Collection-Washington County PL

The Appalachian Forest: a search for roots and renewal, by Chris Bolgiano

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