*Are you wondering what the difference is? Trees cut for sawlogs are larger and straighter than trees cut for pulpwood, for one thing. It's hard to saw boards from a small tree that's full of twists and turns! The chip trucks haul loads of wood that has been "chipped", or cut into small pieces. The chips are used for making paper. Lincoln's mill also uses sawdust that is a byproduct of sawmill operation.
Different species of trees are used for various purposes. Many of the sawlogs you'll see going through Lincoln are eastern white pine, a softwood species used for lumber. Some paper mills use softwood such as spruce and fir, and some use hardwood species like maple and birch in the papermaking process.
There are many sawmills in the area. Some produce boards and others make specialty items. Keeping all the mills supplied requires foresters, woodsworkers, truckers and people who keep all the machinery going. Our grandparents cut wood with an axe or a crosscut saw, used teams of horses to pull the trees out of the woods and floated the trees downriver to the mills. Today's woodsmen use chainsaws, skidders and a variety of large machines that cut the tree, strip off the branches and pile it on a truck.
90 percent of Maine's area is forested, more than any other state in the U.S. About 94 percent of that wooded land is privately owned. If you are not using a public road or trail, always ask the landowner's permission before crossing their land.
Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page to see a tree that's just a little bit different!
A truck loaded with pine sawlogs passes along Main St.
This truck carries a load of pulpwood through Lincoln.
If you would like to share some memories of the early days of the wood products industry in the Lincoln area, e-mail us!
