Sawmills on Silver Lake – Virginia, MN - Minnesota Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This historical sign tells the background of the logging industry in Virginia. It is located in Rotary Park and reads as follows:

“Proximity to dense white pine forests made Virginia the lumbering capital of the world beginning in 1893, when D.M. Finlayson constructed a sawmill near Silver Lake. Just months later, fire swept through the city, consuming the mill. After rebuilding, Finlayson sold the mill to the Moon and Kerr Lumber Company. Reportedly, a spark from the Moon and Kerr operations caused the devastating fire that engulfed the city in 1900.

Another Silver Lake sawmill, built by C.R. Ash in 1902, was acquired by Cook and O’Brien. Their logging railroad linked area logging camps to the mill and influenced a merger with the Weyerhaeuser companies, Edward Hines and other large timber holders. Together they formed the Virginia and Rainy Lake Company in 1909. Renowned as the largest white pine lumber operation, the company employed over three thousand lumberjacks year-round and produced 300,000,000 board feet of lumber annually. Eventually connecting with the Canadian Northern, the logging railroad became the important Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railroad.

Having exhausted Minnesota’s seemingly “endless” white pine forests, the Virginia and Rainy Lake Company closed in 1929. As the last log was cut, a long blast from the plant’s whistle sounded the requiem for Virginia’s colorful timber era.”

Marker Type:: City

Visit Instructions:
A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site'.

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