2-23AP Road to Birkenfeld 2-23APIn the early 1900s, much of the activity in the forest products industry in Oregon took place in the northwestern part of the state. Even though it was not far from populous Portland, this area was a pastoral community, and remains so today.The scene depicts the road as it appeared in 1918. This truck was loaded at the Giustina Bros. mill in Vesper, Oregon (shown here), and is leaving on the plank road to Birkenfeld, about 3 miles away. Because of the abundance of rain, plank roads were a common sight in western Oregon, keeping loads from sinking "out of sight" in the mud. In this region of Columbia and Clatsop Counties, sawmills and logging camps were served by the "Kerry Line," with its main railroad shop located at Birkenfeld. The Kerry Line owners had their own logging operations, but their rails also served other logging operators and sawmills. Lumber from the sawmill was sold to local farmers, and was also trucked to Birkenfeld where it was loaded on Kerry Line cars for shipment north to the Columbia River and on to its final destination. |
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