Celebrate Logging History at Lumberman’s Monument

Lumberman's Monument is located in Huron Manistee National Forests in Michigan. As a symbol of the 19th-century logging industry, this 14-feet bronze monument depicts a wooden log surrounded by three men, including a timber cruiser, a sawyer, and a man holding a peavey. The figures are standing on a granite base, and in the front, there is a marble board with the following dedication: " "Erected to perpetuate the memory of the pioneer lumbermen of Michigan through whose labors was made possible the development of the prairie states." 

The area where this statue proudly stands is known for the white pine trees, that were largely used for construction in the past. Built in 1931 and dedicated one year later, the monument is also part of the River Road Scenic Byway, a road between Oscoda and South Branch. 

Lumberman's Monument is accessible by River Road west of Oscoda and Monument Road from East Tawas. 

You can visit the park and the monument at any time of the year, without paying a fee. From the statue, there is a clear vista of Cooke Dam Pond and the Horseshoe Island on the Au Sable River. 

Most of the Midwest housing was built thanks to the logging industry in Michigan forests. Once people realize how immense these forests were, they started exploiting them even more, and the price of the pine went up, helping the development of the lumbering industry even more. Thanks to the hardworking lumbermen, many towns in the area, including Alpena, Muskegon, and Grayling saw the light of day and started developing during this era. 

Nowadays, anyone can visit this important historical statue, celebrating the lives and the work of the local lumbermen who helped the building of an entirely new part of the country, shaping its looks with the finest white pine logs.