Allegany River

The Allegany river was once a highway for production. Trees were used to transport lumber to other cities on the river in the 1800s. The Allegany River was a major source for this transportation and made the economy boom in the area of Allegany New York.

In the early nineteenth centuries, a generation of pioneers, nomads, and homesteaders arrived near the town of Allegany along the Five mile creek. The rafting of logs became a desired job due to the increased demand of pine logs. Many people started farming lands and clearing timber near the Five Mile watershed lumber industry as it began to boom. “Log driving was a major source of employment in Allegany up to around 1900” (Kilmer, Lawrence p. 105). The town saw a development of shingle mills assembled as more workers came to the area. The Five mile creek ran into the Allegany River which was the main source of transporting logs.    

Estimated 125,000,000 feet of lumber was manufactured 

Logs were grouped and bound with hardwood vines called withes, a cost efficient substitute of rope. 

Rafts were made out of timber coupled together to travel together. The sections were coupled together and were flexible to maneuver around bends. The sizes of the rafts depended on the rivers they were travelling on. Some rafts could be up to 2,000 ft like the ones that travelled on the Mississippi river. 

• 1807: the first raft of lumber to go down the river from Allegany NY area
• 1812-1900: The high peak of rafting lumber and logs market
• 1840: three hundred million feet of lumber rafter downstream on an annual basis
• 1870: Allegany river is declared a public highway
• April 15th 1890: The last rafting party to leave from the George Nessel Mill on the Four Mile Creek in Allegany