Hops, bulbs and berries for sure, but Sumner as a sawmill town? Yep. Thanks to the efforts of Roger Parry and courtesy of Robert Jowett, who was kind enough to provide photographs dating back to the late 1800's, we learn that Sumner was once in a fact a significant logging town. I guess this stands to reason given the agricultural potential of the valley and the need to clear it for growing crops. The hillsides along what is now Bonney Lake also had timber galore. The Ryan family is noted in the history books as being the second family to move to the Sumner area and were instrumental in it's development. The old library and current home of the Sumner Historical Society is located in the historic Ryan home.
The Ryan sawmill was located east of Sumner about 3 miles, putting it at the base of the hill.
Photo courtesy of Robert Jowett, circa 1888
Pretty big operation! Not a lot of automation. Following is a photo showing a Ryan logging crew "dragging" logs to the mill.
Photo courtesy of Rober Jowett, circa 1888
Both the mill and the woods worked 10 hour days. I have yet to see a logger or mill working from this period who appeared to be overweight. More from this period to follow.
P.S. Since both Judy and I grew up in Sumner, we have a particular interest here. Not that far from Black Diamond and many shared experiences with those that developed our adjacent communities of Buckley, Enumclaw, Covington and Maple Valley.
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