This circa-1900 mill interior photo shows workers feeding logs into a large band-saw setup in Pellston, with “cull” written on several log ends — wood that wasn’t top grade but still worth cutting.
A handwritten note on the back says the mill ran two “carriages” (log platforms) from both sides using large band saws, and that this picture shows only the cull logs. The writer (signed “C.P. & R. Brecee”) even invites the recipient to “come up and see,” calling the mills around Pellston “certainly a sight to see.”
Around this era, the Pellston area was booming with mills and woods work tied to the Maple River and the rail lines that moved lumber out.
Do you recognize this mill — or have family stories from Pellston’s lumber days?
#Pellston #EmmetCounty #NorthernMichigan #LumberHistory #MichiganHistory
