Date of Award
1930
Level of Access Assigned by Author
Open-Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Economics
Abstract
The Penobscot River, the largest and most important drainage system in Maine, for many years made Bangor the lumber market of the world.
Lumbering in Maine was confined to the coast and navigable parts of rivers until the most desirable timber had been removed from these areas. Gradually the lumbermen had to go farther inland to find the large trees. This meant the logs must be driven down the rivers to market. The farther inland the timber was cut, the greater were the obstacles to be overcome. The building of dams, the removal of rocks and other such work must be done to facilitate river driving. The history of the development of the Penobscot River for river driving has never been written. It is the purpose of this paper to make a beginning on such a history. It will be limited to a brief account of the Penobscot Boom above Old Town and to the west branch of the Penobscot River.
(A version of this thesis was published in 1931 by the University Press with the slightly different title, The Penobscot Boom and the Development of the West Branch of the Penobscot River for Log Driving.)
Recommended Citation
Hempstead, Alfred Geer, "The Penobscot Boom and the West Branch of the Penobscot River" (1930). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3290.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/3290